Why me?
by j3of25
Summary: First contact has not gone well leaving Archer and T'pol in trouble. Also Trip, Hoshi, Reed and...- who am I kidding, Enterprise and the entire crew are in danger. Part15 up AT LAST!!!!!
1. Default Chapter

Usual disclaimers apply: I do not own the characters from the series Enterprise and I have no right to use them. I've just borrowed them for a non profit making foray into my imagination and I hope that no one minds.  
  
This is just an idea that buzzed into my head whilst I was watching 'Acquisitions'  
  
Summary: Archer is in trouble as the crews' latest attempt at first contact goes badly awry  
  
  
  
Tell me why.  
  
T'pol looked over to the doorway as she heard the sound of the bolt being pulled back. The door was yanked roughly open, she heard the grunt of the guards as they struggled against it when it jammed on the rough floor. Eventually it was fully open and she blinked at the bright light from outside as it contrasted with the dim interior of the room.  
  
A disheveled form was pushed unceremoniously forward, for a moment he formed a dark silhouette against the bright light beyond. Then he was moving, taking a few staggering steps as he was pushed again, but he was badly off balance and fell heavily to the ground landing with a thud only feet from her. The door was slammed shut behind and the bolts thrust firmly back into place.  
  
The figure on the floor rolled onto his back and groaned with the exertion. He lay there breathing heavily. "Why me?" he managed to gasp out between panted breaths.  
  
"Captain?" T'pol asked clearly puzzled by the comment as she moved over to Captain Archer's side attempting to ascertain the seriousness of his injuries.  
  
Despite the difficulty that it obviously entailed Captain Archer lifted his head to look her in the eye. "Have you noticed," he said still attempting to bring his breathing under control. "That every time we encounter an Alien Species they have a tendency to hit me?"  
  
"Not 'every' alien species," T'pol corrected.  
  
"All right a fair majority of them," he conceded  
  
He reached out his hand and she took it, allowing him to use her, as he painfully pulled himself to a sitting position.  
  
"Not all Alien species have mastered their violent tendencies as we have on Vulcan." She remarked as though that were enough to answer his question.  
  
He turned to one side and spat some blood from his injured mouth onto the ground. "And they always hit me in the face at least once." He continued matching her matter of fact tone, not acknowledging her answer.  
  
She regarded him. "Perhaps you are too.." she paused to consider the right word to use. "Antagonistic," she finally completed the sentence.  
  
He stopped from wiping his mouth and looked at her. He thought about her comment. "Most of them hit me before I say anything to them." He finally concluded.  
  
"Then maybe it is your appearance." T'pol answered logically  
  
He let his hand drop back down. "Are you saying I have an antagonistic appearance?"  
  
"It would explain why you seem to attract trouble."  
  
Archer looked at her trying to decide if she were serious or not but then he remembered humour was an emotion that only 'inferior' humans had. "Well whatever the reason I'm getting pretty tired of it."  
  
He had started to ease himself gingerly back towards the far wall of the room. T'pol could not help noticing that he only used one of his hands as he inched his way across the floor, finally coming to rest sitting leaning against the wall that contained the small circular opening, the only source of light and air. His other arm he held protectively across his chest.  
  
As she followed him she spoke again. "It appears your injuries from your latest beating are more serious than usual."  
  
He looked at her. "There," he said accusingly. "I don't like the use of that word 'usual.' Getting beaten up should not be a 'usual' thing." He paused. "Not for a starship Captain anyway," he added almost sulkily.  
  
"Since you are the first human starship Captain then you define what is 'usual' for such a role." T'pol stated, moving closer to get a better look at his injuries.  
  
"Well I'd like to start redefining it please. Next time we." Archer's comment was cut off by a cry of pain as T'pol moved his arm.  
  
She acknowledged the cry by continuing her probing more gently but she did not stop her examination. Archer winced involuntarily a couple of times but made no further sound to indicate the pain he was clearly in. She needed to know the extent of the captain's injuries if she were going to help him.  
  
When she had finished she let his arm rest back on his chest where he had been holding it. "What's the verdict?" Archer asked afraid that he already knew the answer. "Will I play the piano again?"  
  
T'pol regarded him curiously the question was most illogical. "Do you play the piano?" She asked.  
  
"No," Archer answered smiling  
  
"Then I fail to understand.." She began.  
  
"Forget it." Archer waived his uninjured hand dismissively. "It was just an attempt at humour and." He turned his hand round in a stop gesture. "I know it's wasted on you."  
  
"It is curious the way humans attempt to find humour in even the most difficult of circumstances." T'pol remarked.  
  
"So?" Archer asked attempting to change the subject back. He indicated his arm. "Is it broken?"  
  
She looked him in the eye. "I believe so."  
  
He held her gaze. "That's not good is it?"  
  
She looked over his other injuries and then around the small room before making eye contact again. "Considering the break and the other bruising that you have sustained there is a strong possibility that your system will go into shock. From what I know of human physiology this will cause your blood pressure and temperature to drop." She maintained her clinical detachment as she continued with her prognosis. "Judging from the angle of the light and the changes since I was put into this room. I would say that this planet's sun is in the process of setting, that will lead to a further drop in the temperature of the room and since we have no blankets, ill effects from exposure are likely." She paused to take a breath and to judge whether to continue with her assessment or not.  
  
"Go on," Archer prompted, he had decided that he might as well hear everything.  
  
"The break does not appear to be clean and needs setting but there are no materials in the room to splint it with should we be successful." She paused looking down briefly before looking back into his eyes. "In short your injury needs to be treated and we have no way to treat it and I do not rate your chances of surviving through the night once the temperature falls."  
  
Archer once again stared into her eyes. Why did Vulcans always have to be so damned honest. "Hey, don't sugar coat it will you?"  
  
"You asked." She stated simply.  
  
He leaned back thinking. "Yeah I did that."  
  
He remained motionless his eyes closed and, for a moment, T'pol thought that he had passed out.  
  
Abruptly he opened his eyes again and began to move. "Come on then," he said starting to get to his feet.  
  
"I don't.." T'pol began. She never would understand humans perhaps that's why she stayed with them. They were always doing the unexpected. It was..... challenging!  
  
Archer interrupted her. "Look if there is little chance of me surviving if I remain here. Then I for one vote that we try to find a way out of here. Agreed?"  
  
She looked at him there was a certain logic to his reasoning. "Agreed." She said helping him to his feet. 


	2. Prelude to Escape

Author's note:- Apologies that this has taken so long to post. I bet some of you had almost given up on it. Hope you enjoy this installment. The next part should be here much sooner. Let me know what you think. Thanks  
  
  
  
Chapter 2 :- Prelude to Escape  
  
Archer leant heavily against the wall allowing the dizziness that had accompanied getting to his feet to pass. He took a deep breath to clear his head and pushed himself upright allowing a moment to hold his balance.  
  
T'pol, once she was reasonably certain that the captain would not fall over again, moved over to the door and began inspecting it for possible means of escape. "The door is bolted from the outside," she stated turning back to look at him. "Even with my strength there is no chance of breaking it down. It would be illogical to try."  
  
"What about the hinges?" Archer asked, trying hard to steady his breathing. If they were going to have any chance of escape he needed to concentrate on dealing with his injuries, passing out any time in the near future was not an option.  
  
"They are on the inside," T'pol explained patiently "but without some sort of tools there is no way that we would be able to remove them."  
  
"Yeah," the captain replied smiling. "Well I'm way ahead of you there." He reached down to undo his zip and winced as the movement of his injured arm reminded him that he was going to need some more help. Much as he hated to admit it. "Mmm do you think you could give me a hand here?"  
  
T'pol who had been examining the hinges once more turned and moved to the captain's side. "How may I assist."  
  
"I need a hand with the zip."  
  
T'pol looked him up and down with an expression which on a human would be called disdainful "And which one would that be?" She indicated the many fastenings on the captain's uniform. "Starfleet seem overly fond of such fastenings for a single item of clothing." She observed.  
  
Archer smiled at her. "They do that." He indicated the main zipper at the front. "If you could help me get this one down to the waist"  
  
T'Pol obliged. The action bringing her very close to him.  
  
"And now if you could er..." Archer paused suddenly slightly uncomfortable about the close proximity of the Vulcan and what he now had to ask her to do. He swallowed.  
  
"Captain?" She asked looking up into his eyes.  
  
The intense gaze from T'pol's deep brown eyes as she looked into his did little to make him feel more comfortable. He hesitated again for a moment before continuing, his mouth inexplicably dry. "I.. er.. need you to reach into my uniform. There should be a small blade stuck down the side of the waistband." He explained. "It's on the right side so I can't get it, my arm." He continued lifting the injured arm slightly  
  
T'pol reached her hand into his uniform. The action caused her to step even closer as she moved her arm in through the confines of the material.  
  
Archer felt the touch of her hand as it snaked around his waist. He could feel her warm breath on the exposed skin of his chest where the uniform had been opened and, not for the first time, he felt the shiver of attraction to the Vulcan officer.  
  
T'pol also found that for a brief moment she was reacted to the close proximity of the captain before she once again took control. She took a deep breath, maybe she was spending too much time with humans?  
  
She continued to search, probing with her fingers turning her head up to face Captain Archer "Perhaps you are mistaken?" She said as her search proved fruitless. "I can find nothing."  
  
"Oh trust me it's there." Archer replied, remembering how he had engineered that they throw him across the room so that he could palm the small tool and wincing slightly as he remembered how one of the blows that had hit his side had driven the blade into his flesh after he had managed to conceal it in his uniform. He was about to suggest that it may have dropped down from the waistband and maybe she should check inside the uniform leg when she found it.  
  
T'Pol moved her hand further around and was rewarded as her fingers touched cold metal. She pulled the tool clear and stepped back.  
  
Archer was quite relieved, not quite sure how he would have reacted if T'pol had remained that close to him for much longer, especially if her hands had had to search further. 'She's a Vulcan' he reminded himself for the thousandth time 'so don't even think about it'  
  
T'pol examined the small blade. "There is blood on it," she stated matter of factly.  
  
"Yes, hiding metallic objects in your clothing whilst aliens beat up on you probably isn't the most sensible course of action." Archer replied. "I must enter that in my log so that I remember not to do it next time."  
  
T'pol ignored the comment and was already moving over to the hinges of the door to test the usefulness of the object she had retrieved.  
  
After a few seconds, she turned back to him. "I believe that this will work but it will take at least half an hour. You would be best advised to use that time to get some rest. I will let you know when I am finished."  
  
Under normal circumstances Archer would have tried to insist that he help, but one of the skills of a captain was to recognise good advice and, when it was best to let your crew do the work for you. So Archer merely nodded and moved back over to the wall. Using it to steady his descent he leant back and slid slowly down. Once on the floor he rested his head back, closed his eyes and waited.  
  
  
  
Trip took a seat next to Hoshi. "And I'm telling you," he kept his voice low in a conspiratorial whisper. "There is definitely somethin' odd about the cap'n and T"pol ever since they came back from the planet's surface."  
  
"Like what?" Reed, who was sitting opposite asked.  
  
He pointed down at his food. "Like neither of them has eaten and there has been two meal times since then". He picked up a forkful and put it in his mouth as he waited for an answer  
  
"They explained that they were treated to a feast when they arrived," Hoshi returned, "One where to refuse any dish would be taken as an insult. So it's no surprise that they're not hungry."  
  
"Anything else?" Reed asked  
  
"Well since we've got some time on our hands I asked Jon if he wanted to watch some sport and he said he was too tired." Trip announced as though it was a clinching argument.  
  
"Well maybe he is. It's not unheard of for people to be tired you know." Reed replied wearily  
  
"Yes, but not Jon, it's like he's been avoiding me and as for T'pol she's had even less to say for herself than normal. I'm tellin' you that somethin's up. Somethin happened on that planet."  
  
"So," Reed picked up putting on his best English long suffering tone. "After a four hour intensely draining first contact meeting, the captain returns to the ship, not hungry but very tired and he doesn't want to watch sport," he paused, "and you think this is strong evidence that there is something seriously wrong."  
  
Trip looked at him, "Well when you put it like that...." He thought for a few moments more. "I know this sounds crazy, it's just that my instincts tell me somethin ain't quite right." He said stubbornly. "Just promise me both of ya that you'll keep a look out for anything unusual"  
  
They both nodded to Trip's pleading look. "Well that's all I ask, let me know as soon as you see anything." Taking one last forkful of his food. He stood up. "I'm gonna go see what the sensor logs are tellin us about that place" and with that he turned and left.  
  
Reed looked across at Trip's barely touched food and then across at Hoshi. "If lack of appetite is a sign of a problem than maybe our commander Tucker should be worrying about himself as well as the Captain."  
  
Hoshi smiled back at him "Maybe."  
  
  
  
T'pol undid the last fastening on the bottom hinge and stood up. She looked over to the captain, who appeared to be asleep against the far wall. There was no reason to wake him until she had ascertained whether they had a clear escape route or not, so she turned her attention back to the door. As gently and quietly as she could, she lifted the heavy door off its hinges and shifted it to one side before leaning it against the wall. Then she carefully moved her head into the gap and peered into the corridor beyond. 


	3. Escape

Chapter 3 Escape.  
  
Hoshi walked down the corridor still thinking about the conversation with Trip. She had learnt over the last few months that the engineer's instincts were generally good especially when it came to the Captain. His friendship with Jon allowed him an insight into the man that usually signaled problems that others would not notice, so she wasn't quite as dismissive of his suspicions as Reed had been.  
  
As she neared the junction of the corridor, her senses were therefore heightened and so, when she heard snatches of a strange language, she listened carefully, committing the collection of sounds to memory automatically and, without consciously thinking about it, attempting to decipher them. She stepped around the corner and saw the Captain, speaking to T'pol. Instantly the speech became recognisable.  
  
".....and I think you should work out a roster for some of the crew to visit the planet's surface whilst we are here. We should make the best use of the time." Archer said.  
  
"I'll get to work on it straight away, Captain." T'pol replied.  
  
The change was so sudden Hoshi almost did a double take but she pulled herself together so that by the time she walked past the two, nodding in acknowledgment of their presence, she had her expression controlled. Her heart, however was thundering rapidly and her stomach knotted at the surge of adrenaline she felt. Maybe, like Trip, she was imagining things but there was something about the way the two senior officers looked at her.  
  
As the two of them continued their conversation, she tried to avoid running to get out of their sight, only too aware of the two of them watching her retreating form.  
  
"Give priority to the science teams, I noticed some interesting geology that they could look at. Let me have the lists as soon as they are complete." She heard the Captain continue and then she was round the next junction  
  
She stopped and took a deep breath, trying to calm herself down, wondering if her reaction would have been the same if Trip hadn't primed her to be suspicious. It didn't really matter, now she was equally convinced that there was something wrong. Instead of returning to her quarters she headed to engineering  
  
  
  
Archer felt the gentle touch on his arm and heard his title being repeated but somehow he couldn't bring himself to open his eyes, he felt himself drifting away.  
  
"Captain," T'pol said quietly for the third time. She was beginning to wonder if she would be able to rouse Archer at all, especially since she was trying to remain quiet. She did not want to alert the guard.  
  
She had found the corridor outside the room empty and had crept silently to the next corner. Looking around it she had seen that there was a single guard blocking their path. She could go no further without incapacitating him. It was time to return for the Captain. If this escape attempt was to work then they would only get one try at it and she would need Captain Archer with her.  
  
So now she knelt by the Captain, assessing his condition, trying to rouse him. She did not like the colour of his skin he was far too pale and there was a thin sheen of sweat covering it despite the rapidly falling temperature. She shook him lightly.  
  
Jon used all of his determination to prevent himself drifting off again as he heard T'pol's slightly more urgent tones. It sounded like there was something wrong and he needed to be awake to deal with it.  
  
He opened his eyes and blinked even in the dim light that was seeping in through the now empty doorway. It took him several seconds before his eyes focused and the memories of his current situation returned.  
  
T'pol watched him closely. "Captain," she said when she was sure that he was sufficiently aware to comprehend what she was saying to him. "The door is off, we need to go."  
  
Archer looked across at the displaced door and nodded. He began to push himself to his feet and regretted the speed of his movement as bruised and torn muscles protested and he gasped in pain. Nonetheless he continued to push himself up against the wall, attempting to ignore the wave of dizziness that washed over him but needing to lean for support for a few moments whilst he waited for it to pass.  
  
T'pol was beginning to feel more and more that attempting to leave with the Captain in this weakened state would prove ultimately pointless, but it was still more logical than the alternative which was to sit and wait for the inevitable deterioration in his condition. So she waited patiently for him to steady himself.  
  
Archer pushed himself off the wall and stood unaided. He was relieved to find that the room remained steady around him. "OK, let's go," he said.  
  
T'pol nodded and headed out through the doorway. Checking both ways before stepping into the corridor she did not wait to see if the Captain was following, she knew that he would be.  
  
Archer took a deep breath and followed, as he left the dimly lit cell and stepped out into escape and possible detection, a much needed surge of adrenaline coursed through his system. Keeping his injured arm protectively against his chest, he crept behind T'pol as she silently approached the corner.  
  
  
  
Trip was checking the sensor logs for a third time, but the data remained the same as it had on the previous two occasions. There was nothing out of the ordinary and yet he had had this feeling of uneasiness ever since the Captain had left the ship only eight hours before.  
  
Jon's reaction to him when he had returned from the first contact meeting had only served to reinforce this general unease, but he still couldn't define what it was and without something more to go on lieutenant Reed was right, it could just be his imagination.  
  
Dammit though there just had to be something. He punched the console in frustration, too hard, pain shot through his knuckles. He looked down at the screen worried that he may have broken it and noticed to his amazement that virtually every reading had changed.  
  
He scanned the log entries quickly, the data on the history of the planet that was now on the screen was entirely different from the data he had been reading a moment ago.  
  
As he continued to read it, it began to change. It was as though someone was pouring a liquid of different data in at the corner of the screen. It ran and spread covering the new data with what he had seen originally.  
  
He frantically pressed the buttons, attempting to stop the liquid flow, to get this new data back again but to no avail. All he could retrieve was the logs he had been reading for the last hour.  
  
Trip sat back and stared at the screen in front of him. His vague uneasiness had just turned into concrete 'something's wrong.' But what was he going to do about it?  
  
T'pol peered around the corner and was relieved to find that there was still only one guard but he was a good twenty feet away and without a distance weapon of any description she knew that the main problem was covering the distance between them without being noticed. If the guard cried out before she reached him or had a distance weapon to use on her then this attempted escape could be over before it started.  
  
The Captain tapped her arm and she moved out of the way so that he could get a look. He appeared to assess the situation for a moment and then much to her amazement he stumbled over to the far wall and out into clear view of the guard, moaning loudly as he went. Leaning heavily against the wall nearly bent over double in pain he spoke weakly, "Help me"  
  
For a moment T'pol thought that maybe he was hurt even worse than she had assessed, possibly delirium had driven his actions, but then she realised that far from crying for assistance the guard was approaching, albeit cautiously, down the corridor, closing the distance between them.  
  
She pressed herself flat against the wall and waited.  
  
Archer watched the guard approach in his peripheral vision, the man was cautious enough to be ready to check around the corner as he neared T'pol's position. Archer waited and just as he drew level, he moaned loudly.  
  
The noise was enough to make the guard turn his head at the crucial moment and in a lightning fast move T'pol stepped out, placing her fingers on the man's neck, she squeezed. He instantly lost consciousness and she caught him, lowering him silently to the floor.  
  
She then quickly began to search his clothing for items that could possibly help them whit their escape.  
  
"You have got to teach me how to do that," Archer said grinning and pushing himself upright, still leaning against the wall.  
  
T'pol replied by looking up at him and raising one eyebrow. "Captain," she said, "you could have warned me of your plans."  
  
"No time," Archer replied, "besides you wouldn't have approved."  
  
T'pol nodded, "It was a foolish course of action. You exposed yourself to danger. The guard could have shot you or called for help on seeing you. You should not have..."  
  
"That," Archer interrupted, "is precisely why I didn't tell you what I was going to do." He grinned again. "It worked didn't it."  
  
T'pol had to concede that point, however illogical the action.  
  
"Well, if you've finished stripping our friend, let's get out of here."  
  
T'pol nodded and pulled the guard's unconscious form out of sight around the corner and then moved to join the Captain who was already halfway to the next junction..  
  
They now had keys and some sort of energy weapon which like their own appeared to have two settings. With it set to what they hoped was stun, they took out the remaining four guards that they encountered before finding the exit from the building they were in.  
  
Once outside they were both relieved to find that T'pol had been right, the planet's sun had indeed set. The only light now came from a small moon. They kept to the shadows as they tried to decide in which direction to go.  
  
They made their decision and reached the nearby fence. T'pol helped Archer to climb over it as he awkwardly tried to keep his useless left arm out of the way. They were just over and clear. Archer breathing heavily from the exertion when all hell broke loose behind them.  
  
Sirens began to wail and powerful lights were switched on. There were loud shouts and the sound of running feet as the building they had just left seemed to spring to life.  
  
T'pol turned and began to run for the nearby tree line, the reason why they had chosen to depart from this side of the building. To one of the other two sides that they could see, there was a large cliff, the building had been set in it's shadow and the hillside went up and out of sight beyond. To the other side the land dropped away sharply and they could see the outline of buildings in the town, but there was a much wider expanse of open land before reaching those buildings. So they had chosen this direction and the forest.  
  
T'pol looked back to check the Captain was following her and was relieved to see that he was although she was a good twenty yards ahead of him. She slowed to allow him to catch up some noticing his slightly stumbling gait.  
  
Archer ran for the tree line, making the best use he could of the new surge of adrenaline as it hit his system in response to the imminent danger. He tried his best to keep his pace even and his breathing steady but, unable to use his arm for balance as he ran, he stumbled and had to check his pace to recover without falling.. His bruised ribs would not allow him to take the full deep breaths he needed, instead his breathing became ragged and shallow.  
  
Knowing that he was fighting a losing battle against his abused body he pressed on willing himself to reach the tree line and comparative safety. He watched T'pol disappear into the undergrowth now a mere ten yards away from him, but the blackness began to close in from the sides of his vision as he stumbled once more. This time unable to respond he dropped to the ground engulfed in a sea of darkness before he hit. 


	4. Suspicions

Part 4 Suspicions  
  
"You want me to do what?" Lieutenant Reed asked incredulously, stopping very briefly from the task of checking the storage container to look first at Trip and then at Hoshi who stood on either side of him. Both did their best to look earnest and reasonable.  
  
Realising that his companions were serious but still not prepared to consider their outrageous request, he decided the best course of action was probably to ignore them and hope that they'd go away. He went back to his task.  
  
"Come on lieutenant," Trip tried cajolingly. "You're the only one who can do this."  
  
Reed deliberately finished counting the contents of the container in front of him before repeating his action of looking at each of his companions in turn. Then stated firmly. "No," before shutting the lid and clipping the lock into place. He turned and moved off to the next container.  
  
Trip barely got his fingers out of the way in time as the lid closed. He and Hoshi exchanged desperate glances before quickly following the lieutenant to where he had opened another container and was studiously checking it's contents. They split to stand either side of him again.  
  
Reed let out an exasperated sigh as he once again found himself surrounded. "Look commander," he said looking at Trip. "Ensign," he similarly acknowledged Hoshi, "Weapons inventory is my least favourite task and much as I appreciate the company," he continued dryly, "and the amusing requests that you are making. I could really do with some peace and quiet so I can get this finished." He went back to counting the contents of the case.  
  
Hoshi and Trip exchanged glances again. This time Trip used his eyes to indicate that Hoshi should try her powers of persuasion. Hoshi looked at him. 'What am I supposed to say' written clearly in her expression. Trip merely used his eyes and this time a slight inclination of his head to indicate that it was her turn to speak.  
  
All of this unspoken communication took seconds and went completely unnoticed by lieutenant Reed who was once more engrossed in his inventory task.  
  
"Lieutenant," Hoshi began, "Malcolm," she corrected herself softening her voice along with the form of address. She tilted her head slightly and smiled. "We need someone to find out what is going on and you are the only one who has experience at infiltrating alien races and you're so." She hesitated struggling with how to continue. ".good at it." She finished weakly.  
  
Trip shot her an exacerbated look and she returned with an 'it's the best I could do' expression. Then they both rapidly rearranged their features as Reed paused from his task.  
  
He stared ahead for a moment before turning to look at Hoshi. He smiled a humourless smile and straightened to his full height. Slowly with barely held patience he began. "Commander, Ensign," once again he acknowledged them each in turn. "Just what part of 'no' do you not understand?" He paused taking a deep breath. "Now if you will excuse me, since I am clearly not going to get any work done here." He turned and headed for the door.  
  
Trip looked over at Hoshi. ".you're so good at it.." he mimicked, "is that the best you could come up with?" he asked in whispered tones. "I thought you were a language specialist!"  
  
"I am," she hissed back. "I could have told him the same thing in two hundred and fifty separate dialects." She paused before adding. "I normally translate it, I don't make it up!"  
  
By this time Reed was at the door and leaving. "Come on," Trip said. "We'd better go after him, although I don't reckon on our chances of persuading him to do anything now," he said pointedly, heading off in pursuit of the lieutenant.  
  
  
  
Once she was safely in the trees T'pol turned to see how far behind her the Captain was. She turned just in time to see his heavy descent to the floor. Rapidly assessing their situation she knew that the logical course of action was to leave him and make good her escape. She stood a far better chance of getting away and making it back to the ship if she were alone even when the Captain was fully fit. In his present condition there was little chance of either of them escaping if she stayed to assist.  
  
If there was one thing that T'pol had learnt through working with humans, however, as much as it pained her to admit it, there were sometimes other ways of looking at a situation than with pure logic. If she left the Captain behind then he would almost certainly die and Jonathan Archer would be a very difficult man for Starfleet to replace. His death would put the Exploration mission back by many years, not that there wouldn't be a large contingent of Vulcan in favour of that, but it was now her mission too and she did not want to jeopardise that. From that perspective logic dictated that she went back for him.  
  
There was another argument that could also not be ignored. She knew that if the situation were reversed, no matter what the risk, the Captain would not hesitate to come back for her.  
  
All of these thoughts were processed almost instantaneously and she was out of the cover and running back for the Captain before he had come to rest on the ground. Hefting him up on to her shoulder, thankful that Vulcans were so much stronger than humans, she headed back into the trees, disappearing into the undergrowth just as one of the searchlights traced the treeline in her wake.  
  
This time she did not stop once she hit cover. She kept going realising that her chances were greater the bigger distance she put between herself and the compound they had just left.  
  
On and on she ran ignoring all sensations of pain and tiredness, until she could no longer hear the sound of the sirens. When she was satisfied that any followers would have a difficult time, assuming they could pick up the trail, she stopped.  
  
As gently as she could she lowered the Captain to the ground and checked his condition once more. It did little to allay her concerns. His pulse was too rapid, his skin cold and clammy to the touch and his breathing rapid and shallow. She needed to splint his arm and reset it and she needed to wake him up. Otherwise he was likely to drop into a state of shock that could kill him. She looked round for a suitable piece of wood to use as a splint and took out the jacket she had thought to retrieve from one of the guards at the compound, tearing the sleeves into strips to use as a bandage and a sling and laying the rest over the captain to keep him warm.  
  
Then she found a piece of bark and filled it with water from a nearby narrow stream, part of the reason she had chosen this location to stop. She used some of it to wipe the Captain's brow and poured some into his mouth. All the time talking to him and encouraging him to wake up. As the cold water hit the back of his throat a reflex reaction took over and he began to swallow but inhaled at the same time causing him to cough and splutter. It was enough to return him to consciousness.  
  
He blinked and waited for the painful coughing spasm to pass before attempting to focus on his surroundings. Leaning back against the tree, he turned to look at T'pol. "We made it then," he said, his voice weak and hoarse.  
  
"If you mean that we have escaped the compound and thus far avoided recapture then you are correct." She said, gratified that he was lucid. "If, however, you mean we have escaped then I believe the term 'made it' is premature and contingent on us making it back to the Enterprise."  
  
"I'll take the first one for now," Archer replied forcing a smile. "At least there's no one likely to hit me out here."  
  
"But there may be any number of indigenous species waiting to rip you apart for food" T'pol replied with her usual clinical detachment. "or just for sport, not to mention.."  
  
The Captain held up his good hand. "Let's just leave it at the not mentioning stage OK" he said. "Until further notice I want you to restrict the information you give me only to positive news."  
  
"Very well Captain," T'pol said patiently. "As far as I can tell there is no one as yet following our trail. As soon as I have set your arm I suggest that we keep going."  
  
Archer looked down at his left arm which rested limply and painfully across his chest. "Oh good, I'm glad you woke me up to do this." He said with a failed attempt at sarcasm. "Would have hated to have missed the pain." He shifted to a better position.  
  
"I could not do it whilst you were unconscious." T'pol explained. "I need you to resist as I pull." She continued, manoeuvring herself to a place where she could manipulate the bone.  
  
Archer gritted his teeth as she repositioned his arm. Even that was painful.  
  
"Brace yourself Captain this is going to hurt," she said gently. Archer looked her directly in the eye and nodded that he was ready.  
  
As she pulled and twisted in one swift action, the spasm of agony that swept up his arm was indescribable. He could not stifle the loud moan as his body and mind reacted to the pain and then his overloaded senses shut down again as he once more dropped into blackness.  
  
  
  
Trip emerged on the corridor about fifteen feet behind Reed and shouted. "Lieutenant Reed Stop!"  
  
Despite his reservations about the action, Reed's military training would not allow him to disobey an order and, whatever the circumstances, Commander Tucker was his superior officer so he had to do what he said. He stopped.  
  
Trip was surprised. He had expected to have to give chase, instead Reed stopped and stood silently. He did not, however, turn round. He just stood and waited for Trip to catch up with him and then walk to the front.  
  
Trip knew that he only had one more shot at this. He had to get Reed to listen and to do that he would, he now realised, have to back off a little. He made eye contact and spoke as seriously as he could. "Lieutenant, all I'm asking is that you don't just dismiss what Ensign Sato and I have been saying to you. At least think about what we've told you and look around at what's going on. We're due to leave the ship at 14:00 hours so I'll meet you in your cabin at 13:00 hours. You can let us know your decision then." He searched the young officer's expression for a sign that he was weakening. "Please," he added, a hint of desparation there.  
  
Reed regarded him. It was rare to see Trip so serious and in a strange way so vulnerable. This was a genuine plea for help. Reed found his attitude softening and then he remembered what they were asking him to do. He shook his head "I can't do it," he said. "I can't go behind the Captain's back. It's tantamount to mutiny."  
  
"Only if we're wrong," Trip said quickly, "and I don't think we are. If we're right and there is something wrong with the Captain then he'll thank you for it." He saw signs that his words were having an effect on the young officer. "Look you don't have to give me an answer now." He pressed his advantage. "Just promise me you'll think about it."  
  
The two men held each others gaze for a few more seconds. "All right," Reed eventually replied, "No promises but I will think about it."  
  
Trip broke into his characteristic wide grin. "Thanks," he patted Reed on the back. "We'll see you at 13:00 hours then."  
  
Reed nodded and walked thoughtfully off down the corridor leaving Trip facing Hoshi who had come up behind but hadn't wanted to interupt.  
  
"Do you think he'll do it?" she asked.  
  
Trip turned so that he could watch the lieutenant dissapear round the next junction. "He has to," he said quietly, remembering his last encounter with the Captain just before he and Hoshi had headed down to see Reed. It made him shiver involuntarily. "Because I'm telling you now," he continued. "Whoever or whatever is on that bridge, it is not Jonathan Archer." 


	5. Plans and Problems

Part 5 Plans and problems.  
  
Hoshi looked at Trip for a moment. She no longer needed to take his word for it, ever since her encounter with the Captain and T'pol in the corridor she had the sense that there was something very wrong on board the ship. Nothing large, nothing that you could really point to and say 'There, that's not right' but more a general sense of unease. The feeling that people were behaving. How could she describe it? Not 'strangely,' far from it, it was if people were behaving 'too normally.' Everywhere you looked people were doing exactly what you would expect them to do. Almost like deja vu without having experienced it before, if that made any sense at all.  
  
Hoshi reluctantly decided that she couldn't put her feelings into words, even to herself those last few thoughts didn't really make sense. That was probably why she hadn't been able to explain to Lieutenant Reed why he just had to go along with their plan.  
  
Hoshi had known from the second that the 'Captain' had summoned her and Trip to see him that he had in some way found out that they were suspicious. This feeling had been confirmed when he had explained to the two of them that he was sending them down to the planet together. Ostensibly she had been invited to carry out further study on indigenous languages and he had been invited to tour one of their power generating facilities, but the fact that they were going together was too much of a coincidence for her.  
  
She knew, as did Trip, that whatever fate had befallen the Captain and T'pol, the same was in store for them. That is when they had hatched their plan.  
  
"Hoshi?" Trip's voice was concerned and she realised that this probably wasn't the first thing he had said to her.  
  
"Sorry I was lost in thought," she apologised, "What did you say?"  
  
"I said, we oughta go and see if the doc is more willing to help us out, because if the lieutenant does change his mind then we are going to need his help too." Trip repeated patiently. He understood her lack of concentration, she was rattled. Hell, he was rattled too and he had far more experience than the young ensign. He tried his most reassuring smile. "And this time I'll do all the talking," he continued.  
  
Hoshi looked at him and, despite the situation, could not help smiling back at the grinning commander. There was something distinctly infectious about the way he smiled.  
  
  
  
Archer opened his eyes and looked around, every part of him seemed to hurt, even his eyelids and he was slow to focus on his surroundings. A slight sense of panic gripped him as he realised he was alone in the clearing. He looked around again just to be sure but there was no sign of T'pol.  
  
He took a deep breath to calm himself and then assessed his situation. His arm was now firmly strapped between two wooden splints and held in place with a neat sling. He had a cloth coat covering his legs and the same piece of bark that he had drunk from earlier was resting next to his right hand. It had been refilled with water. If T'pol had left him, she had at least done her best to make him comfortable before her departure.  
  
Thinking about it, he could understand why she would go. He was a considerable burden at the moment, a situation that he hated to find himself in. T'pol would have a far better chance of escaping, and possibly bringing back help, if she went on her own. It would be the logical course of action.  
  
Archer sighed, one thing he could rely on his Vulcan sub commander to do was to follow logic. He picked up the water and took a sip from it. He hadn't realised how dry his throat had become. He continued sipping until he had emptied the contents of the makeshift bowl and then he replaced it on the ground. He then lifted his hand and pushed his hair back from his face. The skin on his forehead felt remarkably warm, not a good sign given the chill of the air.  
  
Considering his options he decided that remaining where he was was not a good idea. He really needed to find some sort of shelter against the cold of the night and then he had to look for some way to contact the ship. He tried to work out how long it had been since he had left Enterprise to come down to the planet and knew that it must be several hours. He wondered if the crew was searching for him yet?  
  
Unsteadily he pushed himself to his feet, the jacket falling away from his legs as he did so. If he had been thinking more clearly he would have taken it with him, used it to keep warm, but the growing fever, that he was only vaguely aware of, was already beginning to affect his thought processes so he let it fall to a heap on the ground and left it.  
  
He looked up at the moon, the only thing he had to take a bearing on, and decided that his best chance was to head for the city and see if he could find an empty building to shelter in. As he set off meandering unsteadily through the trees he felt the first droplets of rain touch his skin.  
  
  
  
As Reed walked away from Trip, he was deep in thought. A part of him wanted to dismiss what the engineer had said, as he had earlier in the day, as paranoia and an overactive imagination but somehow he couldn't. For a start Trip now had Hoshi on his side and despite her unconvincing arguments she had seemed sincere. Her description of hearing the strange language on the corridor and of how she had felt under the scrutiny of the Captain and T'pol had actually sounded quite unnerving when she had described it. Then of course there was Trip's description of the changing data on his screen, far too bizarre for him to have made up, and finally, although he hated to admit it, he himself had started to notice something strange about the atmosphere on the ship. Particularly around the Captain and T'pol and the one away team that had already returned from the planet.  
  
Still it was difficult to contemplate what they were asking him to do. Since it involved working without the knowledge of the Captain, something that went against everything he knew and believed in. He had a strict military upbringing and believed that everything should be done by the book, then again they had encountered so many strange things out here, sometimes there were situations that the book just didn't cover. Maybe this was one of them.  
  
He considered his options. Trip and Hoshi were meeting him in just over an hour, until then he resolved to gather as much information as he could to help him decide. He altered his path and headed for the bridge.  
  
  
  
T'pol entered the clearing where she had left the unconscious Captain, immediately moving over to the discarded jacket. She had decided to spend the time, whilst she waited for him to recover sufficiently to continue, to lay a false trail in case anyone should follow this far. Now she was afraid that her efforts had been wasted, the Captain may have already been recaptured. It was illogical that he would have left the clearing on his own without waiting for her.  
  
She knelt down to examine the soft ground for signs of what had happened, quickly establishing that the only tracks were hers and those of Captain Archer, she revised her opinion. He had indeed awoken and decided to continue alone without waiting for her. Why did she spend her time with such an illogical race?  
  
She picked up the jacket and stood. Taking up a large leafy branch she set off following the Captain's trail using the branch to eradicate the tracks, occasionally stopping to sweep leaves and other debris on to the trail so that it did not look like anyone had passed this way. She moved as quickly as she could, needing to both catch up with the Captain and avoid anyone following them.  
  
As the rainfall began to get stronger she took the sleeveless jacket and slipped it on for the protection it would afford her against the cold droplets. She hastened her pace. The worsening weather was not likely to help Captain Archer's already weakened condition.  
  
  
  
Twenty minutes on the bridge was all it took for Lieutenant Reed to make up his mind. He had spent the first five minutes rigging the fault in the weapons system. It was only minor, blowing out a few relays which he could easily replace later but he wanted to see how the Captain, T'pol and the one other member of the bridge crew who had been down to the surface would react. He positioned himself where he had a good view of all three under the guise of running a diagnostic test on the system and then pressed the switch.  
  
There was a gratifyingly loud crack and shower of sparks as the panel blew out. Reed ignored it and focused his attention on the two senior officers. That was when he saw it, there was a delay, probably less than a second and if he hadn't been watching for it he wouldn't have picked it up, before the Captain, T'pol and the ensign who was covering the com reacted. When they did react what they did was entirely appropriate to the circumstances but that slight pause was enough for Reed. Trip and Hoshi were right, there was something very wrong.  
  
The lieutenant apologised and moved to repair the panel. That done he left the bridge to return to his quarters. If he was going to do as Trip had asked then there were some things he needed to sort out.  
  
Archer forced his injured and aching muscles to keep moving. His clothes were soaked through and his hair was plastered to his head as the rain ran down it and dripped off onto his collar. The cold was becoming an increasing barrier to his movement as involuntary shivers ran through his body, despite the increased physical exertion.  
  
He knew that to stop now, without finding some sort of shelter, would be fatal, so he pressed on through the undergrowth.  
  
He could not have judged how long he kept moving for, it could have been minutes or hours. It seemed like forever. He concentrated on only one thing, putting one foot in front of the other. Everything had looked the same for so long it came as a complete shock when he finally reached the edge of the trees and was gratified to see the dark outlines of buildings less than twenty feet away.  
  
He leaned against a large trunk and attempted to bring his breathing under control, relieved that he had made it this far. Then he stood quietly and watched for any sign of movement. He had to be sure that the area was clear before he attempted to take refuge in any of the buildings he found.  
  
When he was reasonably confident that there was nobody around and sure that if he stood still any longer then he would not get moving again, he paced as quickly as he was able across the gap between the trees and the buildings, then, keeping to the shadows, he moved along the road that ran between, trying to assess what sort of area he had ended up in.  
  
The buildings that he looked at were all fairly large and he quickly came to the thankful conclusion that he was in some sort of industrial area, which meant that at night there would be very few people around. Despite how he was feeling his sharp mind made note of the fact that the technology level seemed considerably lower than the data logs about the planet had led him to believe and it seemed considerably less prosperous. Then again every city was bound to have such areas.  
  
T'pol had caught up with the Captain sufficiently to watch him move off into the shadows of the buildings as she reached the edge of the trees. She dared not shout out or do anything to draw his attention since it also might attract the attention of the planet's inhabitants. Instead she carefully followed, keeping to the shadows herself as she attempted to close the distance between them.  
  
She was so intent in focusing on the Captain as she followed him up the road, that she failed to notice the figure step out behind her as she passed, by the time her heightened senses knew that there was something wrong, it was too late to stop the blow that struck her neatly just behind the ear. She dropped limply to the floor.  
  
Warily Archer kept moving, cautiously trying every door that he came to until finally one pushed open. It was so unexpected that he almost fell into the room beyond. He just managed to stop himself from pitching forward but the effort caused a painful spasm to his rib cage and he began to cough. He moved over to the wall stretching out his good hand to lean against it and support himself. Long after the coughing fit ended he stood leaning, taking deep breaths waiting for the stars to disappear from his vision and the pain to ease off.  
  
He heard a noise behind him and turned to see the door through which he had entered open. A slender shadowy figure entered. "T'pol?" he asked hopefully.  
  
"I'm afraid not," the figure replied and stepped forward into the pale moonlight that shafted in through a high window. Standing before him was a dark haired young woman. Under normal circumstances he would have considered her to be beautiful but he did not look at her face. Instead he was concentrating on the weapon. It looked like an old earth hand gun and it was pointed directly at his chest. 


	6. Help

Part 6 Help  
  
Trip and Hoshi knocked on the door to Reed's quarters. "Come in," the slightly muffled reply came from inside and Trip pressed the button to open the door. Reed was sitting on his bed looking thoughtful.  
  
"I'll do it," he said quietly without waiting for the question to be asked.  
  
Hoshi and Trip exchanged relieved glances. There was now less than an hour until they were due to go down to the surface and the idea of taking the journey without any backup was beginning to worry them. "What made you change your mind?" Trip asked.  
  
Reed looked up at them and explained his little experiment on the bridge. ".like you say," he completed his description, "it was nothing major but, for a short time, it was like the Captain and T'pol weren't even there, mentally at least."  
  
Trip regarded the lieutenant, from what he knew of his personality he knew that what he was asking was difficult, it meant going behind the Captain's back. If he hadn't been so sure that the man on the bridge was not Jonathan Archer he would have had trouble with it himself. Reed wasn't the only one who had been thinking for the last hour. "If you want I'll make sure that it states in the log that I ordered you to do this." He offered  
  
Reed shook his head, standing up. "No, I'm now a willing participant in this little conspiracy. If it should turn out that we are wrong."  
  
"..then we should all take equal responsibility," Hoshi finished for him  
  
"Then let's get this show on the road." Trip said, moving for the door, gratified that his shipmates were one hundred percent with him at last.  
  
  
  
Archer took his hand from the wall and stood up to his full height, trying not to wince at the protest from his ribs. This was not a time to show weakness. He forced himself to draw his attention away from the gun and look into the eyes of the woman standing before him. "I'm Captain Jonathan Archer, from the planet Earth," he offered, his introduction designed to ease the tension and therefore, hopefully, make it less likely that the young woman would pull the trigger. "And you are?"  
  
The young woman watched him carefully. He was obviously quite badly injured, she had been watching him since he left the cover of the forest and had seen the difficulty he was having in moving, but he had the strength of character to try not to show it. "I believe I am going to help you." she said.  
  
Archer was surprised by the answer. He had expected a name, given the weapon leveled at him, he had not expected an offer of help. "Help?" he repeated his brow creasing in puzzlement. He was aware of the fact that his thoughts were not as sharp as he would like, not as sharp as he needed them to be, given the circumstances. The injuries, coupled with the cold and the soaking he had just taken, meant that he had a fever that was rapidly taking hold of his system.  
  
"Yes," she replied, "I have already taken care of the person who was following you."  
  
Archer looked towards the door. "There was someone following me?" he asked, then as realisation dawned, "Female?"  
  
"Yes I believe so, she kept in the shadows but she was catching you up." She paused briefly, before adding. "I took care of her."  
  
Archer took a step forward a deep concern suddenly seizing him. Somehow he knew that this woman was talking about T'pol. "What did you do?" He asked his eyes narrowing.  
  
The young woman stepped back in response to Archer's movement and gestured with the gun to remind him that it was still there. She did not fully trust him yet and she knew he had no reason to trust her. "Whoever it was I knocked them out. It's OK they won't be bothering us for a while by which time we'll be long gone."  
  
Archer began to move towards the door, but this time a sharper gesture with the weapon from the young woman as he approached, caused him to stop in his tracks. Once more she backed away a little. "I said I wanted to help you but if you come any closer I will use this," she said.  
  
Archer realised that his approach must have looked a little threatening, when in reality he was just trying to head for the door. He had to go and find T'pol, check that she was all right. "You don't understand, I think the person that you hit was a crewman of mine. She was with me, not a threat to me."  
  
It was the woman's turn to look confused, "but she was following you, chasing after you."  
  
"I know she.." Archer began.  
  
"..got separated and was trying to catch up." T'pol finished from the doorway. "I believe you would be best advised to drop your weapon."  
  
Both the woman and the Captain turned to look at her. She had the weapon she had retrieved during the escape pointing at the stranger.  
  
"T'pol," Archer said, relieved. "Are you all right."  
  
"I am fine Captain," she did not take her eyes of the young woman. "I asked you to lower your weapon," she said firmly, raising hers and making it clear that she was prepared to use it.  
  
The woman was not intimidated, she kept her own weapon concentrated on the Captain. He was impressed, T'pol could be very intimidating when she wanted. There was, however, nothing he could do at this point apart from watch the scene between the two women play out.  
  
"I guess we have something of a stand off here," the young woman said, fixing her gaze on the Captain, "because I have no intention of lowering my weapon at the moment."  
  
"No," T'pol stated. "In order to have a stand off you would have to be prepared to shoot the Captain and, despite what you say, you are not." Her tone was strong and even. "I, however, have no qualms about pulling the trigger on this gun if you do not comply and lower your weapon."  
  
The woman was surprised by the response and took her eyes of the Captain to look at T'pol. She considered her options for a full minute, weighing the Vulcan up, before deciding to admit defeat. If she continued to bluff she was not sure that T'pol would not just shoot her and she was right, she was not going to shoot the Captain. She lowered the gun down to her side but that was not enough for T'pol.  
  
"Release the weapon fully," she said. The woman did as she was asked. "Now kick it over here," T'pol instructed, again the woman did as she was asked. It was only then that T'pol focused her attention back on the Captain. She walked over to join him ensuring that she kept the young woman in her sights. "She did not harm you further?" the tone identified it as a question.  
  
"No," Archer said, looking at T'pol for any sign that the knock on the head he had been told she had been subjected to, was causing her problems. "She said she wanted to help me."  
  
"An unusual way to offer help," T'pol said as they both turned again to look at her. "Do you normally point weapons as a means of offering assistance."  
  
"No, I." the young woman was clearly flustered now, the loss of her weapon removing with it some of her confidence. "You do not understand what is happening on this planet. It makes us suspicious of everyone. I had to be sure that you were not one of them before I can help you."  
  
"One of whom?" Archer asked.  
  
"It's too complicated to explain here," the young woman replied earnestly, "besides you are both injured."  
  
"I am fine," T'pol stated, the blow had caused her to lose consciousness for only a short time and her physiology was much stronger than that of a human.  
  
"And I'm OK," Archer tried to add but his body betrayed him as at that moment a violent shiver ran through his system. He had been standing unaided for too long and he decided he needed to lean against the wall before he fell over again. "I just need to rest for a little while is all." He hated feeling so weak and vulnerable.  
  
As he moved, however, he misjudged the distance and stumbled. T'pol dropped the weapon she was holding in her effort to catch him. The young woman did not try for it, instead she moved to the other side of Archer to help support him. Together they lowered him to the floor.  
  
The young woman placed her hand on his forehead. "He's burning up," she said concerned.  
  
"He does seem to have a high fever," T'pol confirmed.  
  
"Just need to rest for a while," Archer repeated, worryingly unaware of the conversation around him.  
  
  
  
Half an hour with the doctor had left Reed looking only slightly different. His ears had been reshaped to look more like T'pol's and he had a thin spiny ridge down either side of his neck. He had been discussing his plan of action with Trip whilst the doctor had worked.  
  
"There," said Phlox, smiling at his achievements and holding up a mirror. "What do you think of your new look."  
  
Reed examined the additions touching them lightly as he looked at his reflection. "Thank you Doctor," he said pleased with the results, "and I'm glad that whatever you are using isn't as itchy as the last time.  
  
The doctor's smile broadened, pleased that his efforts had been noted. "It's something new I developed just in case we ever needed to use this sort of prosthetic again," he said proudly.  
  
"Well it's an improvement so far." Reed said, handing the mirror back.  
  
"So," Trip said, "You are clear what you say to the Captain if he's looking for the lieutenant here?"  
  
The Denobulan raised his eyes towards the ceiling. He couldn't get used to the need for human's to have constant reassurance, especially if they already knew the answers to the questions they asked. "Yes, commander," he replied in a long suffering tone, "I am well aware of the answer to give."  
  
Trip looked at him questioningly. "Humour me," he said needing a more complete answer.  
  
The doctor sighed, "I will tell him that the lieutenant has a gastrointestinal disorder and that I have confined him to quarters until he is fully recovered."  
  
Trip nodded, smiling. "Thanks Doc, I owe ya."  
  
At that point Hoshi arrived carrying some clothes. "OK I've got your outfit here," she said laying them out on the bed.  
  
"Oh no," Reed shook his head "I'm not wearing that."  
  
Hoshi looked at him. "Why not? I checked the database and this is likely to blend in best with what the inhabitants of the planet are wearing."  
  
"Look I'm sorry but there is no way I'm going down to the planets surface wearing this," he said, holding the offending garment up. "I am not wearing a red shirt!"  
  
"Why not?" Trip echoed Hoshi's question.  
  
"Because." Reed began to reply but hesitated as he tried to come up with a reason. "I don't know I've just got a bad feeling about it," he paused realising that it wasn't a very solid argument. "Besides," he added, "red's just not my colour." Equally unconvincing. Hoshi and Trip just stared at him. "Look it's just too bright, make's you too easy a target. No self respecting weapons officer would ever wear something that colour."  
  
"All right, all right," Hoshi relented as it looked like Reed was going to try to dream up even more 'reasons.' "If you feel that strongly about it I'll go change it," and she took it from him.  
  
Trip checked his watch. "You'd better get on with getting changed or this little plan will never get off the ground. 


	7. Taking Action

Part 7 Taking Action  
  
Reed quickly changed, Hoshi had returned with a deep purple shirt that to him looked far more inconspicuous, he had accepted it gratefully if a little self consciously, his English reserve giving him strangely mixed values about getting changed in front of a woman. Although it was considered completely acceptable to walk about on a beach with no shirt, and he certainly had no problem with sitting in the decontamination unit with female officers, there was something about the act of taking clothes off and putting them on in mixed company that made him feel uncomfortable. Not something that he felt Trip or Hoshi would understand so he did his best to cover his discomfort and concentrate on what he had to do next.  
  
They had chosen a room close to the pod launch bay for Reed to undergo his transformation. Since they had no idea what was going on, they did not know who on the crew could be trusted and who could not, so it was important that nobody saw him. As soon as he was ready, he checked the weapon and communicator he was taking with him for emergency use. Trip and Hoshi also had communicators that had been adjusted to a low frequency which hopefully the ship would not pick up, not on a routine sweep anyway. It would, however, limit the distance over which they would work giving them an effective range of only half a mile.  
  
His equipment check complete, Reed made for the door where Trip was already waiting. Hoshi had taken up a position across the corridor so that she could signal when the path was clear. She gestured that everything was OK and Trip, after checking the opposite direction, waved Reed forward. He was just about to step out onto the corridor when Hoshi changed her hand signal to a stop and then a go back. Trip put his hand up barely stopping Reed in time.  
  
Already tense from the very 'cloak and dagger' nature of what they were doing, Reed's system pushed out a flood of adrenaline which made his heart beat faster and his breathing quicken. All he could hear was the thunderous pounding of is own heartbeat as he ducked quickly behind the door.  
  
Trip nonchalantly stepped out into the corridor closing the door behind him and moving over to talk to Hoshi as though it was the most natural thing in the world. His calm exterior betraying none of the combination of excitement and fear of discovery that was gripping his own system and giving him similar reactions to Reed. "Hey Ensign," he said innocently to Hoshi, "I've been looking for you," He watched the two crewmembers who had just turned the corner approach his position and nodded in acknowledgment as they went past, desperately trying to continue his conversation without giving anything away. "I just wanted to check that you had everything you need for." and that was all he needed to say as the two moved out of sight and hopefully out of earshot. He lowered his voice. "Phew that was close, another second and they would've spotted Reed for sure."  
  
Hoshi nodded, relief written in her own expression. "Too close for me," she replied trying to bring her own breathing and pounding heart under control. When Captain Archer originally asked her to join the crew and its expedition she had been reluctant, afraid of what she might encounter, but the longer she was out here, the more action she was involved in, the more she found herself wanting to be a part of these situations.  
  
Trip was about to move back to take up his position when more noise alerted them to people approaching. It was Hoshi's turn to make up some questions that would make their standing in the corridor look innocent. Once the two officers, this time from engineering, so Trip had paused his conversation to greet them by name, had passed, they both breathed another sigh of relief.  
  
"Third time's a charm," Trip said as he headed back and opened the door. Peering round it, he found Reed still standing with his back against the wall so that, only from a very small angle on the corridor, could he be seen, even with the door open. Trip gave him a thumbs up signal and turned to look at Hoshi. When she indicated that once again they were clear, He signaled Reed who this time made it out on to the corridor, down the short section and into the launch bay without incident.  
  
Relief spread over Trip and Hoshi once again as their friend and crewmate made it through the doors without being spotted. They moved to follow him.  
  
As Reed ducked through the doors into the relative safety of the launch bay, he too allowed a little of the tension to dissipate. It would have been far easier if the Doctor could have worked his magic in here, but it took too long and there was far too great a risk of someone coming to check or work on one of the Pods. He turned to look at the door as he heard Trip and Hoshi enter behind him. He smiled at them but the smile froze on his lips as a far too familiar voice spoke from behind.  
  
"Going somewhere Lieutenant?" Captain Archer said as he stepped out from his hiding place behind the Pod.  
  
Reed watched the expressions of relief rapidly transfer to shock on Trip and Hoshi's faces as they looked past him to where the Captain stood. He turned round very slowly to see a phase pistol pointing at his chest.  
  
"You really didn't think you were going to get away with this conspiracy did you?" The Captain asked as their gazes met.  
  
  
  
  
  
"Captain," T'pol said, "You have a high fever. You will need to do more than rest" When Archer did not respond, she tried a direct question. "Captain, can you hear me?"  
  
Archer's eyes were glazed over now as the fever clouded his thinking completely. He had used the last of his reserves of strength, the last of his ability to hold on and fight when he had tried to stand up to the young woman with the gun and now his system was close to collapse. He heard the odd word, had the vague impression that there was someone near him. Did he know who it was? He wasn't a fully sure whether he was standing or sitting. The only sensations he was sure of was the pain, which ranged from a dull ache to a sharp fiery stab, and the bone weary tiredness that seemed to take hold of his entire being. "Just need to rest for a while," he mumbled, now barely coherently.  
  
At the third repeat of this phrase and the total lack of awareness of his surroundings, T'pol knew that the Captain was in real trouble. The fever on top of his injured and weakened condition would soon overwhelm and, without treatment, eventually kill him.  
  
As he had fallen she had felt a slight twinge of what human's would call fear. Apart from when she had foolishly allowed a rogue Vulcan to persuade her to release her emotions as part of an experiment, an experiment which had almost ended in disaster for her, it was the first time that she could remember an emotion breaking through since she had mastered control of them long ago.  
  
Human's often had a wrong view of Vulcan's, believing them to be completely devoid of emotions. They were still there, they just had none of the physiological or psychological effects that they had on humans because they were always tightly controlled. It was a skill that the Vulcan's learnt from an early age and maintained through meditation, In one as skilled as T'pol, to have even a slight sensation break through indicated an unusually strong response. She needed to find somewhere to meditate.  
  
She was quickly in control again and by the time she knelt at his side, she was applying her skills of logic to try to decide how best to help. The only logical option was to accept the young woman's offer of assistance. Although this involved a great deal of risk, all of the other alternatives would undoubtedly result in the Captain's death.  
  
She looked into the eyes of the young woman noting that they held concern. "You said that you would help," she said in her usual even tone. "We would like to accept your offer."  
  
The woman regarded her for a few moments looking as if she was weighing her up. Finally she smiled and offered her hand. "The name is Tetia," she said.  
  
"T'pol," she returned both the handshake and the greeting.  
  
Lines of a tenuous trust established by the exchange of names, they both looked down at the Captain, who shivered once more.  
  
"We need to get him to somewhere warmer where we can get him out of those wet things," Tetia said, "and treat his wounds."  
  
"I agree," T'pol looked up once again into the young woman's eyes. "You have such a place?" She asked.  
  
"Yes but it is quite a way from here and we need to travel underground. Using the surface streets is far too dangerous especially if they are looking for you."  
  
"Then we should get started before the Captain is too weak to assist us." T'pol replied. She turned her attention back to him. "Captain," she said, her tone much harsher than the one she had used moments ago, but she needed to penetrate through the fevered haze. "Captain Archer" she repeated sharply.  
  
T'pol's voice penetrated the clouds in Archer's mind, the sharp urgency kicking in a combination of his military training and natural survival instinct as he fought back to a vaguely lucid state. His vision cleared a little and he turned to look at her. "T'pol?" he questioned weakly.  
  
Noting the return to some form of awareness, T'pol explained their situation. "Captain," her tone had softened slightly in as much as the Vulcan's tone could ever be described as soft, "We need to move now. We have to get to a safer location. Do you think you can manage it?"  
  
For a moment there was no reply and T'pol thought that he may have drifted off again but he was merely considering his position and gathering his reserves. He knew that his condition was deteriorating rapidly and staying where he was was as good as signing his own death warrant. Strong survival instincts kicked in. He put his hand out to grip hers. "If you help me," he said holding the Vulcan's gaze.  
  
T'pol nodded and shifted her position. Leaning heavily on her for support Archer slowly and painfully forced himself to his feet. His good arm draped over T'pol's shoulder.  
  
Tetia did what she could to provide support as he stood, but short of taking hold of his broken arm there was little she could do. Once standing T'pol looked at her. "I suggest you bring both of the weapons," she said. It was not ideal to put themselves at the total mercy of this stranger in this way but in taking the decision to accept her help, T'pol had also taken the decision to trust her, the two went hand in hand.  
  
T'pol glanced at the Captain beside her, his breathing was too shallow and erratic and the sweat was now clear on his forehead. She knew that she had taken the only logical course of action but as she watched Tetia retrieve both weapons she just hoped that it had been the right one. 


	8. Pain

Part 8 Pain  
  
Tetia picked up the weapon T'pol had held and tucked it into her waistband. She then retrieved her own weapon, keeping it in her hand but pointing it at the ground, so that it was not threatening to the two people whom she needed to trust her. She turned to look at T'pol and the Captain. "Is there any way I can help?" She asked concerned at the weight that Archer was resting on T'pol's shoulder.  
  
"We will be fine," T'pol replied, "But we need to move as quickly as possible. I suggest that you lead the way."  
  
Tetia nodded and headed for a door at the back of the room, turning before she reached it to ensure that Archer and T'pol were following. True to her word T'pol was able to support the Captain as they moved forward.  
  
About two hundred yards from where they emerged into the moonlit night, Tetia signalled for them to stop. She lifted a grid and indicated that they needed to go down. T'pol manoeuvred herself and the Captain closer, to peer at what appeared to be a sewer access point.  
  
"As I said it will be much safer to travel underground," Tetia explained. "There is a tunnel about ten feet down with a metal ladder leading to it." She glanced at the Captain. "Do you think he'll be able to make it?" She asked the concern showing in her voice.  
  
"I'll make it," Archer said, although his voice was weak it did not disguise the determination. He was functioning on pure will power and adrenaline now, refusing to give up whilst there was any hope of making it to safety.  
  
T'pol nodded and moved closer in to the edge. With a great deal of manoeuvring and several gasps of pain, the two women managed to get the Captain into a position where he was sitting next to the ladder. T'pol began to descend and when she was far enough down, Tetia helped him to step onto the ladder so that T'pol had her arms around him, her shoulder pressing into his lower back as she held them both in place. He gripped the rung with his good hand and they began to descend together one step at a time.  
  
Despite the seriousness of the situation and the pain that he was in , his thoughts were, for the moment at least, fairly lucid. When they were about halfway down, he could not suppress a chuckle as he felt T'pol press against him.  
  
"Captain?" She asked, unsure of what about their current predicament, could generate any emotion other than concern and possibly despair.  
  
"I was just thinking of the lengths I have to go to, to get you to put your arms around me," he replied the mirth in his voice still evident around the tightness caused by the pain he was in.  
  
"I need to put my arms around you to prevent you from falling," T'pol began to explain. "In your current."  
  
"All right, I know why you're doing it" Archer interrupted, realising that, even if he did have the energy to explain the joke, it would still be lost on the Vulcan. Damn, it was sometimes so easy to forget that she wasn't human.  
  
"Captain you need to conserve your strength. We do not know how far we have yet to travel."  
  
And sometimes so hard to forget that she was Vulcan.  
  
T'pol reached the last rung and realised that there was about a two foot drop to the ground. She eased the Captain down until they were both sharing the bottom rung before dropping to the floor keeping her arms around him. She explained the drop and Archer gripped tightly with his good hand before making the jump to the floor. He did not have the strength, however, to support his weight on impact with the ground and his knees buckled. The jarring sensation shot sharp bolts of pain through his ribs and broken arm and in the face of the spasms he lost his grip on the ladder falling backwards into T'pol. The two tumbled to the ground.  
  
Tetia was not far behind and dropped down lightly to the ground beside them as Archer and T'pol rolled over, Archer ending up lying face down on top of her.  
  
As the haze of pain subsided, he finally managed to orient himself and opened his eyes to find himself staring into the face of his Science officer. "We have to stop. meeting like this," he gasped, unable to resist the oldest line in the book, reserved for situations just like these.  
  
Had T'pol understood the cultural references, she might have been relieved by the apparent improvement in the Captain's condition. At the moment he was a least lucid enough to not only make comments, but to use his sense of humour to try to relieve some of the fear and tension that the situation was generating, but she did not understand them and so took the comment at face value, believing it to be an indication that the Captain's fever was getting worse and that he could not remember that they were already together.  
  
"Captain?" she questioned.  
  
By this time Tetia was at their side. "Here let me help you," she said gently, offering her hand.  
  
He stared up at her as emerald green eyes met his, noting for the first time how beautiful she was, pale alabaster skin was lit by a small lamp that cast shadows on her face accentuating her fine features. He studied her for a few moments before a shift beneath him reminded him that he was lying on someone and not the ground.  
  
He looked back at T'pol who still did not protest despite the fact that she was supporting his full weight. "I'm sorry I must be hurting you," he addressed T'pol whilst accepting Tetia's offered hand. With her help he eased himself on to the floor, until he was sitting leaning his back against the wall of the tunnel.  
  
"We will rest a while," T'pol said noting his paleness and ragged breathing, once they had him settled.  
  
"No," Archer said wearily, "We have to keep moving."  
  
  
  
Reed forced his eyes away from the weapon to look at the Captain's face, there was a certain element of triumph in the expression.  
  
Trip stepped forward, so that he was a pace or two in front of the other two, putting on his friendliest voice. "Now Jon," he said using the familiar form of address rather than something more formal to try to appeal to his friend. All the while, part of his brain screaming, that it would not work because this was not his friend. "I don't want you blaming these two. This was all my idea I forced them to help me."  
  
"Oh really?" The Captain's eyes narrowed, "And just how did you manage that, they don't seem to be under any constraints to me."  
  
"Well I.." Trip began, desperately trying to think on his feet.  
  
At this point the other two stepped forward to join him. "No, Trip," Malcolm said. "You can't take the blame for this."  
  
"We agreed to it," Hoshi acknowledged.  
  
"Well, however you got here, you are all going to spend the foreseeable future in the Brig." The Captain replied. "Along with your other co- conspirator," he continued, as T'pol stepped out from behind the other side of the Pod holding Dr Phlox by the arm, a phase pistol firmly jammed against his neck. She forced him forward.  
  
Trip, Reed and Hoshi all reacted with a slight shock at the affable doctor being treated in such a way, especially by one of their own crew. As usual he seemed unphased by the situation, his expression, never easy to read, seemed more like that of a friend being introduced at a party than someone with a gun at his throat.  
  
Trip was concerned. "Doc you OK?" he asked, ignoring Archer and T'pol for the moment.  
  
"I have suffered no ill effects thus far," Phlox replied.  
  
As Trip made his comments, Reed noticed that the attention of the Captain and the sub commander were on him and Phlox, he took his opportunity. Ever since he had turned to face the Captain, his tactical brain had been trying to figure a way out of this and he had an idea.  
  
He turned and whispered urgently to Hoshi, "I need you to do something totally unexpected."  
  
She looked blankly at him. "Like what?" She whispered back.  
  
"Doesn't matter as long as I would never expect you to do it in a million years," Reed replied still in a whisper. "I need a diversion."  
  
Hoshi nodded.  
  
"So what now?" Trip was asking, vaguely aware that something was going on beside him.  
  
Before Archer had a chance to answer, Hoshi took a step to her side and then began to Cartwheel across the floor in front of Reed and Trip.  
  
As Reed had anticipated, the unexpected move had the same effect as the exploding console earlier in the day, and Archer and T'pol seemed to momentarily freeze. It was all the time he needed to pull his weapon free from it's place of concealment. The Dr. was in the most danger so he aimed for T'pol first. "Duck Doc," he yelled, slightly annoyed at himself for the inane phrasing, an English education made you worry about grammar at the most inopportune times. The doctor did not need telling twice seizing the opportunity to throw himself out of harms way.  
  
Reed's aim was true and T'pol was hit by the stun blast dropping to the floor in a heap, but the time taken to fire had lost him his advantage over Archer, who had recovered and took aim himself. Reed dived out of the way of the shot but not without taking a glancing blow to his shin. The pain making it clear that the Captain's weapon was not set to stun.  
  
Reed rolled and took refuge behind a large storage bin, the only available cover and the place where Hoshi and Trip had already taken shelter. As Reed pulled himself to a sitting position, his back against the bin, he attempted to steady his breathing and then assess the damage to his leg.  
  
"How bad?" Trip asked, looking at the lieutenant's leg with concern.  
  
"Just a scratch I think," Reed replied as he put his hand around the storage container and without even looking, let alone taking aim, let off a couple of random shots to discourage the Captain from approaching whilst he sorted himself out. "Damn painful though," he continued, wincing as he tried to move it.  
  
Trip nodded, "Just our luck that you're the only one carrying a weapon. Did you see if the doc got away?"  
  
"He made it to cover on the other side of the room I think, but he's unarmed," Reed replied, suddenly concerned that the Captain might go for him instead of tackling them, after all one unarmed man was a better prospect than three people, one of whom was armed. He cautiously moved his head so that he could peer out beyond the container.  
  
He pulled his head back slightly shocked by what he had seen. He looked again, after a few seconds he shifted his injured leg violently, gasping at the pain as he did so, and then he pulled his head back and leant against the storage bin again.  
  
Trip and Hoshi watched him curiously. "What's happening?" Trip asked  
  
Reed didn't say anything for a few moments as he tried to fit his ideas together. He moved to his knees trying to avoid hurting his leg. "Whatever I do in the next minute," he said, "I want you to trust me." He gestured towards the top of the storage bin. "Look out there, tell me what you see."  
  
Trip did as he was asked. The Captain had taken cover behind a block of storage containers over the other side of the room, only his head was visible, T'pol lay motionless on the floor by the Pod, where she had fallen. Trip brought his head back down. "OK," he said.  
  
"What did you see?" Reed asked.  
  
Since Reed had just looked himself, Trip did not see the point of this, but Reed had asked for his trust, so he sighed and described the scene. Then Reed hit him. Not a gentle tap, but a full right hook to his jaw, causing his face to explode in pain and stars to cloud his vision. "What the.." he began when he had recovered enough to speak.  
  
"Look now," Reed commanded, his tone sharp enough to brook no arguments.  
  
Bewildered and angry. What on earth did Reed think he was playing at? Trip nonetheless did as he was asked "Oh !" was all he could say as he looked out once more.  
  
Hoshi could not stand the suspense any longer. "Does one of you two mind telling me what's going on?" She asked, the frustration showing in her voice.  
  
A wicked grin spread over Trip's face, although the pain in his jaw took out some of the pleasure. He gave Reed a knowing glance. "Sure," he said, "Look out there."  
  
Hoshi didn't like the look Trip gave her but her curiosity won out over caution and she did as she was asked, taking in the scene, the Captain still semi-concealed, T'pol still unconscious. She was just about to turn and ask again what this was all about when Trip grabbed the soft flesh on her upper arm and pinched it as hard as he could. She couldn't help letting out a slight yelp at the sharp pain, and that is when she saw what the other two had already seen. Hiding across from her behind some storage containers and lying on the floor by the Pod, were two total strangers in Starfleet Uniform!  
  
Author's note:- I have received some really nice feedback recently and it has helped to encourage me to get this done. This is not a hint, it is a thank you to those who have taken the time and trouble to let me know you are enjoying the story- Thanks 


	9. Fighting

Part 9 Fighting  
  
Captain Archer put his hand out for assistance. Recognising the stubborn set to his jaw, T'pol decided against giving further advice that he should rest, she stepped forward to once again help him to his feet. He leaned heavily against her and the wall but finally made it to a standing position. Once he had regained his breath, he nodded, "Let's go," he forced the words out.  
  
T'pol nodded to Tetia who set off, leading the way by the light from the small lamp. .  
  
For Jonathan Archer his existence had shrunk to a single purpose, all of his efforts and energies concentrating on the normally simple task of putting one foot in front of the other. At first he tried not to rest too much of his weight on T'pol but as they moved, he paid less and less attention to that, as his focus became taking the next step. He did not notice the change in terrain, did not notice when the tunnel gave out to smaller sewers and they were forced to wade through water which at some points was several inches deep. He was even unaware of how slowly they were moving, Tetia frequently stopping to allow them to catch up. He was just aware of the need to keep placing the next foot forward.  
  
They had been walking for nearly half an hour and T'pol was now supporting most of the Captain's weight as his steps became slower. She had considered stopping and carrying him, as she had earlier through the woods, but the ground in the tunnels was too soft to support the weight of both of them and she calculated that it would slow them down further. Whilst the Captain was conscious, their best chance was to continue as they were. Only if he passed out again would it be logical to change.  
  
She was about to ask Tetia about their destination, knowing that the Captain would not be able to go much further, when he stumbled and almost pulled her down with him, but his proximity to the wall of the tunnel at that point, fortunately saved them both. T'pol turned him to lean his back against it, aware from the sharp grunt of pain that his shoulder had taken the brunt of the impact and had once more jarred his injured arm.  
  
Archer leant back, remaining on his feet only because he was not sufficiently aware of what was happening to realise that he was still standing. T'pol studied him carefully. His eyes were open but defocused and sweat from the fever ran down his face and neck. His normally bright eyes were clouded with fever and pain. The heat that was radiating from his skin could still be felt even though she was no longer holding him up. The side of her uniform where she had been supporting him, still warm to the touch and damp with sweat, the signs were not good.  
  
"How much further?" She asked.  
  
"We're nearly there," Tetia answered moving back to stand beside them. "It's just round the next junction."  
  
"I do not think that he can go on," T'pol said honestly, not taking her eyes from Archer's face.  
  
"I don't think that will be a problem." A male voice spoke from behind them  
  
T'pol turned her head. There were two young men standing in their path and she found herself once again staring into a weapon.  
  
  
  
Hoshi ducked her head back down, echoing Trip's "Oh." She looked at her two companions questioningly.  
  
"Well at least we now know that that is definitely not the Captain," Reed offered, the expressions on both Trip and Hoshi's face had confirmed to him that his theory was correct. It was the pain in his leg that had allowed him to see the impostors for what they were. The pain he had inflicted on Trip and he in turn on Hoshi had allowed them to see the same thing. "Now we just have to figure out what to do about it."  
  
"The cartwheel thing," Trip asked, considering their predicament. "What was that all about?"  
  
"As I explained earlier," Reed answered. "Whoever these impostors are, any unexpected event seems to throw them, so that they don't react straight away. I asked Hoshi to do something that I would never expect her to do, as a distraction."  
  
Trip risked a sneaky glance up over the storage bins but the fake Captain had not moved. "So we need to repeat that in order to draw him out." He suggested.  
  
"Yes," Reed replied, thinking. "It could work again, but we need to come up with something that the Captain wouldn't expect."  
  
"Oh trust me," Trip replied, "I'm way ahead of you there. Give Hoshi your weapon."  
  
Reed was slightly taken aback by the order, of the three of them, Hoshi was definitely the worst shot, giving her the only weapon was, he was sure T'pol would have pointed out had she been there, illogical.  
  
Hoshi saw it that way too. "But I'm probably the worst shot here. I only averaged eighty percent on my last competency test," she protested, quite flattered by the confidence Trip was obviously showing in her, but unsure that she wanted the responsibility of the only weapon should something go wrong.  
  
"An' you'll be just fine," Trip replied, "I need the lieutenant here to help me with the diversion." He turned to look back at Reed. "Lieutenant?" He said making it clear that he expected him to hand the gun over.  
  
"Care to tell me what the plan is?" Reed asked, but Trip just grinned.  
  
"You'll find out soon enough, until then you'll have to trust me" he said, gaining his revenge for the almost identical words Reed had uttered before hitting him, he was prepared to make him sweat. Turning back to Hoshi, he continued. "Do you think you could tell the doc, in Denobulan, to make a lot of noise without leaving his cover."  
  
She considered it, assembling the sentence in her head. "Yes I think so," she said.  
  
"OK do it. Then, as soon as you have a clear shot take it," he said. "The Lieutenant and I will provide the distraction this time."  
  
Hoshi nodded and shouted out her instructions to Phlox. There was a short delay, and they all held their breath as they waited for the doctor to do as he was asked. The only one of them who was unsure if it would work was Hoshi, Denobulan was particularly difficult to master and she found herself hoping that she had not just asked him to wash his socks, instead of make a noise. She need not have worried, exactly one minute after she had given the shouted instruction, a large cacophony of noise began from the stack of containers at the other side of the room.  
  
As soon as this started, Trip grabbed hold of Reed's uniform and literally hauled the younger man to his feet so that they could both be clearly seen, yelling at him at the same time. "And I'm telling you I'm the senior officer, I'll make the decisions." With that he took a swing at Reed's head.  
  
The younger man had had a little more warning than he had given Trip for the last punch and ducked out of the way of the blow which was aimed at the side of his face. He made his own quick jab at the commander's solar plexus, aware that this was not for real, he pulled the punch but it was still enough to make Trip gasp for breath.  
  
He entered into the spirit of things. "And I'm the tactical officer," he yelled back, "I deal with combat."  
  
Not that Trip didn't have his own competency in unarmed combat and his next blow connected, striking the lieutenant on the cheekbone.  
  
Hoshi ignored the events taking place beside her focusing all of her attention on the fake Captain Archer. As Reed had predicted the combination of unexpected events seemed to freeze the man in place. She took careful aim at the part of his head that she could see. Now that she was no longer in pain, it looked like Captain Archer again, making the task slightly more difficult as a part of her brain refused to accept that things were not as they seemed, telling her that she could not shoot the Captain. Without worrying about her own cover, she was able to stand clear of the storage bins to give her a better shot. Just as the effect of the unexpected event was wearing off and the false Captain began to move again, raising himself up to take aim at the two fighting officers, she fired.  
  
Her aim was true and the fake Captain crumpled to the ground. Relieved, she felt the intense tension that she had been feeling for the last couple of minutes dissipate, to be replaced with a sense of elation at her own success. She turned to the others, expecting some sort of praise but they had become far too carried away with their diversionary role and were now rolling around on the floor wrestling with each other.  
  
Hoshi moved closer to them. "It's OK you can stop now," she shouted but they did not seem to hear and she had to jump backwards out of the way as they almost rolled into her. "Commander, Lieutenant," she shouted again, making use of their training, knowing that they would respond to the use of their ranks. She kept her tone sharp and this time they both looked up. "I said you can stop now," she completed in a much quieter tone.  
  
Both men looked a little sheepish as they disentangled themselves from each other and stood up. They looked over to the prone form that was lying by the shuttlepod.  
  
Trip straightened his uniform and looked at Hoshi "Well done, I knew you could do it," he said moving over to take the phase pistol from the alien's lifeless hand. Reed limped over to join him. Now they could get a better look, they could see that the man was very similar in appearance to the natives of the planet that they had seen on the viewscreen. The same narrow ridges on the neck that Reed was wearing prosthetic versions of, the same pointed ears and pale skin.  
  
Hoshi had moved to retrieve the weapon from T'pol, since she was no longer in pain, all she could see was the young Vulcan officer lying on the ground. Phlox came out of his cover to join her, his first action was to check the injured alien.  
  
"So, who do you think they are and what do they want?" Reed asked quietly, staring at the body in front of him.  
  
"I dunno," Trip replied "But for the time being that's not important. The question I'd real like to have the answer to is.." His tone was serious as the others turned to look at him. " Where is the real Jonathan Archer?"  
  
  
  
For a moment T'pol believed that she had made a miscalculation, she had allowed them to be led into a trap after all. Possibly she had even allowed Tetia to lead them back to their original captors. Her eyes narrowed as she turned to look at the woman who had possibly betrayed them.  
  
"It's all right," Tetia said, directing her attention to the two men. "These are the ones I told you about. I trust them," she continued, showing the men that she had both weapons. "and they have put their trust in me to help them."  
  
One of the young man studied first T'pol and then Captain Archer in the flickering light of the lamp. "He's sick," he said, stating the obvious.  
  
"Very," Tetia confirmed, "They did this to him, one of the reasons why we must help him. You can help carry him to my room."  
  
The young man seemed to consider it for the briefest of moments before nodding and tucking his weapon into his belt.  
  
"This is Narib and Baros," Tetia said as the two men moved forward, "and this is T'pol."  
  
They all acknowledged the introductions to each other with a nod and then the two men focused their attention on lifting the Captain between them, their arms locked together around his shoulders and hooked under his knees. Once they had him they set off at a much more rapid pace.  
  
Within minutes they had left the sewers, this time by some steps and were in a large courtyard. Moving into the building they were taken to a spacious bedroom, where the Captain was quickly stripped of his wet clothing before being place in the bed. For the first time T'pol and Tetia could see the true extent of his injuries. There was a deep gash in his side, caused by the tool he had smuggled out, it was long and ragged and had bled a lot. The rest of his upper torso was covered in ugly purple bruising from the beating he had taken. Together they cleaned and dressed the wound and then covered him with light bedding to try to prevent him losing too much body heat as his temperature continued to climb. Cool cloths were placed on his forehead.  
  
"We have done all that we can for now," Tetia said, finally.  
  
"You have no doctors, no one trained in medicine, who could help?" T'pol asked.  
  
"Not that we can trust," Tetia replied regretfully, knowing that Archer really needed more than just rest. "All we can do is wait and hope that the fever breaks."  
  
T'pol looked at the Captain who shivered again and groaned at the pain the movement caused "I do not think that will be enough," she said quietly. Moving to kneel by his side, she took the cloth and dipped it once more in the icy water. Very gently she used it to wipe the sweat from his face and cool the skin. For once she hoped that she was wrong. 


	10. Decisions

Author's note:- Apologies once again for the delay but I've been away on holiday. Your patience has been rewarded with a longer chapter than normal- hope you enjoy it.  
  
Part 10 Decisions.  
  
"My money would be on him and T'pol still being on the planet," Reed answered. "Kept against their will whilst their alien replacements came back to the ship"  
  
Trip nodded, he'd come to the same conclusion but what he really wanted to know was exactly where the Captain and the Vulcan sub commander were and why they were being held. If they were being held. A terrible thought briefly passed across his senses as it occurred to him that they may already be. no he refused to even consider it and buried the idea where it belonged deep in his subconscious. They had to be alive still, he refused to believe otherwise. The question was where did they go from here. He looked over to where Dr. Phlox had moved over to examine his other patient, the 'Captain.'  
  
"How are they Doc.?" He asked, not really concerned for their well being but wondering if they posed any further threat and if they would be up to answering questions anytime soon.  
  
The Denobulan looked up from his ministrations. "They are both stunned and will remain unconscious for quite a while," he replied. "Otherwise I can detect no problems." He stood, his expression becoming one of puzzlement. "What I can't understand is why the Captain and T'pol would behave in this aberrant manner"  
  
Realising that Phlox had not been listening to their conversation thus far and, although he had agreed to help them alter Reed's appearance, he was still unaware that the figures before him were definitely not who they appeared to be, Trip attempted to explain. "That's because that isn't the Captain," he pointed at the prone form, "and that isn't T'pol." He pointed again. "They're both some sort of alien impersonators."  
  
Phlox considered the reply. "How can you be so."  
  
"..Sure" Trip completed for him "Hurt yourself," he directed.  
  
Phlox was slightly taken aback by the instruction. "Sorry?"  
  
"Do something that'll cause you pain." Trip elaborated, "don't matter what, as long as it hurts." He paused watching the doctor's expression. "It's the only way you'll see them for what they really are."  
  
"I don't see how."  
  
"Trust him doctor," Reed added, "you'll understand once you've done it."  
  
Slightly bemused the doctor raised his arm and turned it, he moved his fingers over the surface until he found what he sought. "If you would be so kind as to press here," he said to Reed. "It's a rather sensitive nerve bundle and should do the trick.." He looked into the lieutenant's eyes. "Only not too hard or I may pass out," he added matter of factly.  
  
Reed did as he was asked and was shocked by the jerk of reaction from the doctor. In the rush of adrenaline caused by the dangerous situation he had been in earlier, he hadn't really thought about the fact that he was actually hurting his friend when he hit him. The pain was secondary, driven by necessity, he had needed to get Trip to react quickly. This, much more clinical infliction of pain, was somehow much harder  
  
The doctor recovered from the flinch. "Thank you," he said, his voice slightly breathless. Then he turned to look at the figures on the floor. He looked at each in turn. "Fascinating," he finally said, his mind already working on the hows and whys of this particular phenomenon. He looked back at the others. "And when the pain wears off?" he asked.  
  
"Well I wouldn't know 'bout that," Trip replied looking at Reed meaningfully. "I'm still kinda hurtin'" he said rubbing his jaw and his chest where another of Reed's, albeit pulled, blows had landed.  
  
"Hey it wasn't me who started that second fight." Reed defended himself.  
  
The argument would have continued but Hoshi interjected at this point. "When the pain wears off they appear to be the Captain and T'pol again," she answered Phlox's original query.  
  
"Fascinating," the doctor repeated, becoming lost once more in his thoughts.  
  
They were all thoughtful for a few moments. "And it's not just them we're not seeing as they really are." Reed stated.  
  
Trip and Hoshi looked at him, even the doctor was pulled out of his musings by this statement. "How so?" Trip asked.  
  
"Well you remember what you said about what you saw on the computer screen, the different records about the planet?"  
  
Trip nodded  
  
"Well you saw that only when you thumped the console, that and the pain in my leg were what allowed me to form a hypothesis that it was pain that allowed you to see how things really were."  
  
"A hypothesis that you just had to test by punching me in the face?" Trip asked.  
  
Reed looked at his friend and superior, trying to gauge just how serious he was. He was already, now that the adrenaline rush had worn off completely, beginning to feel bad about the blow,. "I. it.. I.. was," he replied, flustered "It was the quickest way to get you to see what I saw."  
  
"An' you couldn't a just told me about it?" He asked, in mock seriousness, enjoying Reed's discomfort.  
  
"I.. it wouldn't have been as quick." He attempted to justify his actions, "besides I needed to test my hypothesis."  
  
Trip rubbed his jaw, "Well my jaw isn't very grateful for the way you chose to test it," he said, still somehow managing to repress the urge to grin. He decided on one last dig before he let the younger officer off the hook. "You do realise that striking a senior officer is a court martial offense." He added in a tone so serious that he thought Reed couldn't help but see through it.  
  
Instead Reed paled visibly, taking the comment as a serious threat, since it was one of his most deep seated fears, that one day he would make a mistake and disgrace himself and his family name for ever. That was why he always tried to do everything 'by the book' "but.. I . er. that is.. I. " he floundered, now too flustered to even complete the sentence.  
  
Trip realised instantly that he'd taken the joke too far. He sometimes forgot how seriously his young friend took everything. "Hey, I'm only ribbin' ya, I'm more likely to recommend you for a commendation or somethin' when all this is over" he said, allowing the grin to finally break through. "If you hadn't figured out that and that surprise thing we could all be in a heap of trouble right about now."  
  
Reed looked at the Commander's grinning face and visibly relaxed as he absorbed the fact that far from being genuinely annoyed, Trip had just praised him.  
  
"Although," Trip added, "next time you feel you have to hit me, I'd sure appreciate it if you'd pull the punch a little more."  
  
Reed rolled his eyes, realising that he was not going to hear the end of this for quite a while to come. Trip would use every opportunity over the coming hours to make him squirm for daring to hit a friend, let alone a senior officer, even if it was justified. "Yes well," he countered dryly, his composure restored. "I wasn't sure what level of pain was required."  
  
At that point they were interrupted by a voice from the communication panel on the wall. "Bridge to shuttlebay." Mayweather's disembodied voice rang around the room.  
  
Trip moved over and hit the button on the panel. "Commander Tucker here, how can I help?"  
  
"Commander, we're looking for the Captain. Is he by any chance there with you?" Mayweather asked.  
  
Trip looked across at the prone form over by the shuttlepod. "No," he said truthfully, "I'm afraid he's not down here and I haven't seen him recently."  
  
  
  
T'pol was aware that Tetia watched her for about twenty minutes before she disappeared from the room. In all that time she did not speak to her and T'pol concentrated her efforts on trying to bring down the Captain's fever, gently cooling his skin with the wet cloth, frequently pausing to refresh the cooling water on it.  
  
Her efforts, however, were having little effect and as his fever continued to rage T'pol found it increasingly difficult to maintain her balance. They had not got him to help nearly quickly enough, and he had expended so much of his energy in the escape that he had nothing left to fight with. If it wasn't for his own tenacity and high level of physical fitness, it was doubtful that he would have made it this far.  
  
As she watched him struggle to hold on, at two separate points she found herself having to pause to press on the pressure points in her wrist to prevent her logical balance being lost. She was fleetingly aware of the emotions that were there, held in check by a strong mental discipline; concern, caring, worry, but principally fear. Fear that she would lose this man whom she had come to respect and trust with her life and more. If she were to allow emotions to break through, then she was aware that her feelings for him would be stronger than anything else she had experienced. So she knew that she could not allow them through. She rapidly reassembled the barriers, the logical pathways that allowed her to maintain control, but she knew that she needed to meditate, she could already feel the headache pounding in her temples.  
  
Reluctantly she placed the damp cloth on Archer's forehead and watched him for a moment, when she was sure that he would be all right, or at least no worse, if she left him for a while, she moved away and prepared herself for her meditation. She wasn't sure if it was her own exhaustion or something else, but it took her longer than normal to achieve the necessary state.  
  
  
  
Trip released the button on the panel and turned back to the others.  
  
"Why didn't you tell him about the Captain?" Hoshi asked.  
  
Trip looked across at her, an exacerbated expression on his face. "And what do you suppose I tell him?" He asked rhetorically. "Yes, he's down here but ensign Hoshi just shot him, which is OK because it's not really the Captain but some alien impersonator that just looks like him unless you hurt yourself, in which case you'll see him as he really is."  
  
"When you put it like that it does sound a little crazy," Hoshi agreed.  
  
"A little crazy," Trip almost exploded, venting a little of the frustration he felt at not knowing where his friends were. Jonathan Archer had been his friend for a long time and, although he had known the Vulcan for a lot less time, he realised that he was beginning to think of her too as more than just a colleague. As to whether their relationship could yet be called friendship he was unsure, Vulcans were so damned hard to read, but he did know that he was worried about her, about both of them. "Hell this whole situation is about the craziest we've come across." He almost shouted the last part.  
  
"The question is still," Reed said calmly, quietly, he was handling his concern entirely differently. "What are we going to do about it?" he paused briefly. "As you so rightly point out, the rest of the crew still believe what they see. We are going to have a hard time convincing them that it's not true."  
  
"Well we could try your tactic," Trip said, bringing his agitation under control in response to Reed's much calmer approach.  
  
"Which is?" Reed took the bait.  
  
"Invite them down here one at a time and punch them as they walk through the door." Trip responded.  
  
Reed's face contorted into something that resembled a smile, but was heavily faked and then returned to his original more serious expression. "Very droll."  
  
"Seriously though," Trip said, returning his thoughts to the problem. "I don't think that there is anything that we can do here on the ship, and if we try, we risk getting ourselves thrown in the brig or worse. Remember we have no idea how many of the crew have already been replaced, I'd kinda lost track of how many pods have already been down to the surface."  
  
"So what do you suggest?" Hoshi asked, absorbing the seeming hopelessness of their situation.  
  
"That we carry on as we were. We hide the bodies of our 'friends' there, and head down to the surface as planned. Only I suggest that we don't land where they tell us to, we fake a malfunction and once we're down on the planet we look for the Captain and try to find out what's going on."  
  
"Do you think that will work?" Reed asked a little skeptically.  
  
"As long as we make it down to the surface before the bogus Captain wakes up, I don't see why not," Trip replied honestly, "Besides it sure beats sitting around here waiting to be shot or replaced." He looked round at each of the others in turn. "I don't want to make this an order, so are we agreed?" He asked.  
  
Hoshi and Reed both nodded. "Agreed," they said in unison.  
  
Trip looked at Phlox who had not replied. "Doc?" He asked.  
  
"Ah," Phlox replied, "I was not included in the original plan, I was unsure as to whether you wished me to go with you, or remain on the ship."  
  
"Well you can't stay here now," Trip said looking over at the two bodies once more. "When they wake up they're just as likely to shoot you as anything else."  
  
"Good point," Phlox replied, remembering the gun that had been held to his throat only minutes earlier. "In that case I accept your kind invitation to accompany you to the planet," he added with a slight nod.  
  
"OK, let's get to it then," Trip said setting off towards the nearest alien  
  
Reed made to go after him, completely forgetting his injured leg he put his full weight on it and gasped in pain, almost toppling as the damaged muscle gave, fortunately Phlox caught him.  
  
"I think you'd better come with me lieutenant" Phlox said firmly. "Let me look at that leg."  
  
Reed was about to protest that he was needed to help, but Hoshi stopped him. "Go on," she said, with assurance. "Trip and I can handle this."  
  
Reed hesitated only for a moment before nodding his agreement, he wouldn't be much use to any of them if he couldn't walk, allowing the doctor to support him they made their way into the pod whilst Hoshi and Trip dragged the bodies across to the far side of the bay.  
  
  
  
T'pol returned from her meditative state at the loud noise from beside her. She turned to see the Captain fighting an invisible enemy. His thrashing had overturned the waterbowl, the clatter from which had disturbed her. She quickly moved to his side.  
  
His eyes were open but he was clearly delirious, the sheets had tied themselves in knots around his legs, his arms moving rapidly, oblivious to his injuries, his breath coming in quick shallow pants as he tried to protect himself from the fever induced demons that assailed him.  
  
T'pol hesitated, her breath caught as she saw his distress, then she regained her focus and, using her superior strength, she grabbed his uninjured arm and held it still. Gently massaging the nerve points in his palm and wrist she began reciting soothing phrases to him.  
  
The agitated movements began to calm as Archer began to relax back on to the pillows. He turned his eyes to look in the direction of the sounds that soothed him. For a brief moment they pulled into focus and he struggled to make sense of what he saw, the monstrous images he had been fighting were replaced by a gentle familiar face. "T'pol," he whispered, confused.  
  
"Yes Captain," she replied quietly, brushing the sweat soaked hair back from his forehead, "You must rest."  
  
Archer nodded almost imperceptibly and closed his eyes drifting off once more to a, thankfully dreamless, sleep.  
  
T'pol watched, continuing her massage, as his breathing settled and his body relaxed. Then she stood and began to untangle his legs from the sheets. It was at this point that she became aware that Tetia had returned and was once more watching.  
  
As she tucked the last of the sheet back in Tetia spoke. "He's getting worse."  
  
T'pol turned to look at her. "His condition has not improved," she stated.  
  
"If you don't mind me asking, I'm a little confused, your actions suggest that you care for him," Tetia gestured towards the bed, "Yet he is near death and you do not seem to be.. Upset?"  
  
"I come from a race where such emotion is considered unnecessary. We deal in logic." T'pol replied patiently. "I believe it is time for me to ask you some questions," she continued, deftly changing the subject. "I do not believe that the Captain will survive without medical assistance, if I could contact our ship there may be a chance that they could get help to us, but first I require more information about what is happening and why we were held here."  
  
Tetia nodded, she indicated a chair. "Take a seat and I'll do my best to explain what I can."  
  
  
  
The pod launched without incident, Reed, having had his injury treated and his leg strapped up, took up one of the positions at the helm whilst Trip took the other. As they headed for the planet they all tried to cover their anxiety at the uncertain fate that was ahead of them.  
  
"So you still in pain lieutenant?" Trip asked.  
  
"Yes, I asked the doctor not to give me anything so that I would still be able to see things as they really were."  
  
"It's not often that my patients actively request to remain in pain." Phlox observed.  
  
"Good," Trip said. "If you can access the ships database 'bout this planet, maybe you'll get to see what's really down there."  
  
"Consider it done," Reed replied. "I take it you can't do this."  
  
"By the time we hid the second alien, it looked remarkably like T'pol again," Trip confirmed  
  
"Guess I should have hit you harder," Reed stated under his breath, as he worked the computer.  
  
"I heard that lieutenant," Trip said, grinning.  
  
"Damn," Reed said suddenly, his body stiffening as his fingers began to work more rapidly.  
  
"What is it?" Trip asked alerted by the lieutenant's uncharacteristic curse, momentarily believing that it was connected to something in the planetary data.  
  
"Someone's got a weapons lock on us" Reed replied.  
  
"But the only ship around here is.." Trip began, his own fingers flying across the computer screen.  
  
"..Enterprise," Reed completed. "Taking evasive maneuvers."  
  
"Hang on there," Trip shouted back to Hoshi and Phlox.  
  
"Weapons fired," Reed shouted, his words becoming redundant as the pod reacted to the impact.  
  
The interior exploded in sparks, shaking violently, a panel above Hoshi's head blowing out completely as she covered her eyes to protect them from the shower of hot metal fragments, then everything went completely black as all systems lost power. There were a few eerie moments where complete darkness reigned, before the backup circuit cut in, and the much dimmer emergency lighting came on.  
  
"Direct hit to the starboard power cells." Reed shouted, as his computer screen came back up.  
  
"I'm attempting to compensate." Trip's voice was also loud, charged with adrenaline. He stood and pulled open a panel, working rapidly. "At least there is one good thing," he stated as he sat down again.  
  
Reed looked up from what he was doing for a moment. "What's that?"  
  
"We won't have to fake that malfunction," he replied grimly, "we're going down." 


	11. Out of the Frying Pan

Part 11 Out of the Frying Pan.  
  
Trip opened his eyes slowly and quickly shut them again, as the bright light was accompanied by a sharp pain. He heard a female voice. "I think he's coming round." It took him a moment to recognise that it was Hoshi who had spoken. There was some movement next to him and then he heard another familiar voice.  
  
"Commander Tucker, can you hear me?" Phlox said, he paused a few moments and then repeated the phrase.  
  
Trip shifted his position and heard a groan, again it took him a moment to register that he was the one who had made the sound, cautiously he tried opening his eyes again. This time the pain was slightly less and he kept them open, blinking several times as his eyes adjusted to the light and came into focus.  
  
"Welcome back Commander," Phlox said smiling at him  
  
"What the?.. Where?." He began to ask as he tried to piece together what had happened. He also tried to sit up and that was a mistake as a wave of nausea, not to mention a return of the blinding pain accompanied the movement.  
  
"Now take it easy, Commander. You've taken quite a nasty knock on the head and you need to rest." Phlox replied pushing him gently but firmly back down. "Now tell me what you remember and I'll fill you in from there."  
  
Trip let his head fall back on to the pillow and concentrated on ordering his confused thoughts. "I remember being fired on in the launch bay by the Captain and T'pol. Only.. it wasn't really them was it?"  
  
Phlox shook his head. "What else?"  
  
"I remember.. another fight. with Malcolm.. Lieutenant Reed. but I'm not sure why." He looked up at the doctor, "I'm sorry there's nothing after that Doc, until I woke up here." He turned his head carefully to look round and took in the wrecked interior of the pod. "What happened?"  
  
Phlox sighed. "Under normal circumstances, I'd wait to see if more of your memory returned naturally but I don't feel we have time for that. Ensign." He looked across at Hoshi, "If you'd be so kind, I'll go back to helping Lieutenant Reed"  
  
Hoshi attempted a smile, albeit slightly strained, and sat down next to Trip. "I'm tempted to start with 'Once upon a time.'" she said, "since if I hadn't been a part of it I would be sure all this was made up." And she began to detail the events of the last day.  
  
  
  
Tetia looked at T'pol and took a deep breath. "In order for you to understand what is happening," she began, "I need to explain a little about our people, our history."  
  
T'pol nodded but as Tetia opened her mouth to speak again she was interrupted, Baros rushed into the room. "Excuse me but I need a word," he said aiming his comment and his troubled gaze at Tetia.  
  
Realising that he was not going to tell her what was wrong in front of T'pol, Tetia stood and moved over to him. There was an agitated exchange in whispers, making it clear to T'pol, if it were not already evident, that he still did not trust her.  
  
Tetia, however, did. She dismissed the young man and turned back to T'pol. "The history lesson must wait," she said quickly, "It is one of the craft from your ship, it has crashed into the forest," she continued to explain, "We must get to any survivors before they do."  
  
"I will come with you," T'pol stated.  
  
Tetia began to protest but T'pol interrupted. "My people will not trust you, unless I am with you. It will be important that you gain their trust quickly."  
  
"Very well," Tetia conceded, "but we must move quickly."  
  
They both headed for the door but T'pol stopped as she reached it and despite herself looked back at the Captain.  
  
Tetia had noticed the pause. "I will send someone to sit with him."  
  
T'pol looked into the young woman's eyes and nodded slightly, then she carried on through the door.  
  
  
  
"I could treat this a lot more easily if you would stop moving around and come and sit with your leg up," Phlox said, the frustration showing in his voice.  
  
"I'm sorry doctor, but I need to get these sensors working." Reed replied, continuing to work on the panel in front of him. "It's the only thing that will tell us if there's anyone approaching the pod," He looked over to where Hoshi was explaining the situation to Trip. "And at the moment we could do with all of the warning we can get. How is he?" he asked, nodding in Trip's direction.  
  
Phlox looked over. "I'm beginning to believe in a better state than you. The blow to the head has caused a mild concussion, but apart from that he seems to be all right." He moved Reed's leg as gently as he could, but Reed could not hide the wince that it caused. "The panel that trapped your injured leg, however, has aggravated the phaser injury. I'd be surprised if you can put any weight on it."  
  
"Well I'll let you know in a.. Damn" Reed interrupted himself with the curse.  
  
"I'm sorry lieutenant," Phlox said apologetically. "I didn't mean to cause you further pain."  
  
"It's not that," Reed said, turning to look at them. "I just got the sensors working and I'm afraid that we're going to have company and soon. Ready or not I think it's time we get out of here." The last part was said loudly so that Hoshi and Trip could hear it.  
  
Hoshi had finished filling Trip in on the situation, hearing her explain it had allowed some of his own memories to return. He caught the urgency in Reed's tone and forced himself first to a sitting position and then to a stand.. "How close?" he asked trying to ignore the nausea and dizziness that accompanied his actions  
  
"About three hundred metres," Reed replied. "They're coming in from the West."  
  
As Trip's vision cleared, he moved over to join Reed and look at the sensor readouts. "OK like you say now'd be a good time to get outta here." He looked at Hoshi and Phlox. "Take what you think we'll need and get moving. We need to head towards the East."  
  
The doctor and ensign both nodded. Phlox picked up his medical kit and Hoshi grabbed her translator and some water and they opened the hatch.  
  
Reed looked up at his friend. "You go, get them out of here," he said pulling out his phaser. "I'll hold them off for as long as I can."  
  
Trip looked at him uncomprehendingly for a minute. "Are you crazy?" he asked. " 'cos if you think for one second that I'm going to leave you here, you must be."  
  
Reed held his gaze. "With the way my leg feels now," he replied. "I don't think that I could walk let alone run. I'll just slow you down. You three stand a much better chance of escape without me."  
  
Trip shook his head. "I ain't never left a man behind an' I don't intend to start now. You're coming with us, even if I have to carry you."  
  
Reed looked into the eyes of his friend and senior officer, searching for a moment for a weakness in his position. He found none. Nevertheless he tried one last time. "It would be better if some of us got away rather than all of us captured."  
  
"What can I say," Trip replied, "I'm an all or nothing kind of guy. Now get you're butt moving or we really will stand no chance."  
  
Reluctantly Reed pushed himself to his feet and, Trip supporting him, limped towards the door. "You know I really think..."  
  
"Lieutenant," Trip interrupted wearily, waiting for Reed to look at him before finishing with. "Shut up."  
  
Reed closed his mouth, realising that any further comment would be futile. As they reached the hatch Phlox took over his support, leaving Trip free to help defend them should an attack come.  
  
Together they had managed to bring the pod down in the only area resembling a clearing, in what was otherwise a heavily wooded region and, despite the power loss and damaged systems, they had managed to compensate and keep it mostly in one piece. Without Trip's engineering skills and their joint piloting skills they would not have made it down, at least not alive.  
  
Trip scanned the area before indicating to the others that they should head across to a nearby cluster of trees. Once they were in the forest they would be difficult to track.  
  
Hoshi took the lead with Phlox supporting Reed a few feet behind. Trip took the rear walking backwards and scanning the area for movement as they went. They all had their phasers drawn except for Phlox who carried his medical kit in his free hand.  
  
They had almost reached the safety of the trees when the first shot rang out. It chipped the bark just above Trip's head, both he and Reed simultaneously turned and fired as one in the direction it had come from. Reed had already made it behind cover and he dropped to his knees taking aim again so that he could provide covering fire for Trip, as the commander threw himself into the treeline.  
  
Recovering Trip pulled himself up beside Reed. "How many?" He asked, knowing that the tactical officer would have already weighed up their opposition.  
  
"Three that I can identify for definite possibly more," Reed said firing again. The branch above his head disintegrated and leaves rained down on him. He adjusted his aim and took another shot. "Make that four," and then as more shots rang out, "no, six."  
  
Trip shouted across to the others. "Doc, Hoshi, you two all right?"  
  
"Fine," Hoshi shouted back, confirming her statement by firing off a couple of shots of her own. "Looks like the natives aren't friendly."  
  
"Yeah, but we knew that already," Trip returned.  
  
"Any suggestions?" Reed asked.  
  
"Hey you're the tactical officer." Trip replied, despite the flippant reply he was doing his best to formulate a strategy.  
  
"Well we could," Reed began stopping abruptly as he sensed something behind him. "Damn I think we've been flanked." He stated turning to try to identify the direction of his would be attackers. "Get down." He yelled as the forest behind him exploded with weapons fire. 


	12. Reunited

Part 12 Reunited  
  
Trip and Tucker dropped to the ground and rolled, turning to face the new, and much closer threat, as leaves and twigs rained down on them from the trees above. All of the shots went high going well over their heads.  
  
Reed looked behind him. "They're not shooting at us," he shouted across over the noise. "They appear to be firing at them." He inclined his head back towards the clearing.  
  
"Yeah." Trip shouted, "But why?"  
  
"Because they're trying to help us?" Reed suggested.  
  
"So I ask again, why?" Trip replied  
  
"I think I know," Hoshi shouted.  
  
Both men turned to look in her direction and saw what she had seen. "T'pol?" Trip shouted.  
  
"This way quickly," T'pol instructed. The situation was too dangerous to risk any form of explanation.  
  
Trip looked at Reed. "Is it really her?" he asked.  
  
"The amount of pain I'm in?" Reed replied. "Yes it's definitely the real T'pol."  
  
"Then what are we waiting for?" Trip asked and began to scramble across towards T'pol's position.  
  
Hoshi and Phlox followed his lead as another hail of fire covered their retreat.  
  
"Actually," Reed said, Trip turned to look at him. "I was waiting for a little assistance."  
  
Trip reproached himself for forgetting his friend's injury and moved back to help him.  
  
As they drew level with T'pol, again she did not waste time with words or explanations, much as all of them would have appreciated it. "This way," she said turning and moving quickly off.  
  
"Good to see you too." Trip muttered beneath his breath.  
  
Without another word the group made it's way through the forest. T'pol appeared to be following another young woman, who moved quickly between the trees. She seemed to know exactly where she was going although there was no discernible path. As they moved the sound of weapons fire became more and more distant until they could hear it no more, but none of them were sure whether that was because they were too far away, or because the gun battle had stopped.  
  
Reed did his best not to slow them down, biting his lip against the pain, he tried not to lean too much of his weight on Trip who, when he glanced across, was looking a little green himself, probably still suffering the after effects of the knock on the head. Phlox tried a couple of times to get them to slow down but each time Reed waved him away. After about half an hour of moving quickly across rough ground, frequently changing direction, the fatigue began to show and they found themselves dropping off the pace.  
  
The doctor had finally had enough, they seemed to be reasonably safe and he needed to check on the condition of the two officers. "T'pol," he shouted forward, coming to a stop. "Please if we are away from the worst of the danger then I think we should take a break," he continued, as both T'pol and the young woman stopped and turned, moving back towards them.  
  
T'pol quickly assessed the situation. "Lieutenant Reed needs medical attention?" She asked.  
  
"I didn't think you'd noticed," Reed, panting heavily with the exertion of limping so far, couldn't stop the sarcasm as it left his lips.  
  
"There was little we could do whilst we were under fire," T'pol stated. She turned to look at Tetia. "Will we be safe to rest here for a while."  
  
Tetia nodded. "We would be, but we are not far from the edge of the forest, another few minutes. We will be much safer when we get back to the base."  
  
"Lieutenant?" T'pol asked, clearly leaving the decision of whether they rested now, or continued to safety, to him.  
  
Reed wiped away the sweat and looked apologetically at the doctor. "I can make it." He forced a smile. "A few more minutes isn't going to make a lot of difference."  
  
The doctor shook his head in exacerbation, not bothering to voice his objections knowing that it would be futile. "All right," he acquiesced, "but I'll support you for the rest of the journey," he stated, firmly enough to leave no room for argument, he too had noticed Trip's pallor.  
  
  
  
There were a myriad of questions that they all had for each other, that they could not ask until they reached safety but, arriving in the courtyard Trip finally voiced the one question that had been uppermost in his mind ever since T'pol had appeared in the forest "T'pol." He waited until she turned to look at him. "Where's the Captain?" He asked his voice quiet as he became gripped by a fear that he did not want to hear the answer to this particular question.  
  
T'pol looked at him curiously, there were many questions that needed answering and that one was not a logical place to start, but she had been around people long enough to know it was a very human place to start.  
  
"He is in a room upstairs." T'pol answered the question literally. Trip released the breath he had been holding, at least the Captain was alive, but he noticed that T'pol hesitated before adding more and turned to look for their host.  
  
Tetia had dropped back behind them as soon as they had reached the courtyard and now waited, anxiously watching the forest, for the return of the rest of her companions. That left the Starfleet officers alone, although there were other people in the courtyard, apart from the odd curious glance, they ignored their visitors.  
  
"Why didn't he come with you?" Trip asked  
  
"I'm afraid the Captain is extremely sick," T'pol replied.  
  
"So who are these people," Reed asked also looking across to where Tetia waited. He had not listened to Trip's question or the subsequent answer, he was too busy assessing their new situation. T'pol obviously trusted these strangers but it was in his nature and his training to be suspicious. In the current circumstances, he trusted no one.  
  
"I do not know," T'pol replied to the new line of questioning. "I only know that thus far they have tried to help us. Your arrival interrupted any explanations."  
  
Trip was still too preoccupied with his thoughts of his friend to consider anything else. They were temporarily safe, explanations could wait. He needed to see Jon. "Can we see him?" Trip asked, impatient with the change in direction of the conversation.  
  
T'pol switched her attention back to the Commander. "Yes," she said, "I believe it would be a good idea if we took the Doctor to him as soon as possible."  
  
She moved across to where Tetia stood and the others watched as she said something to the young woman, who nodded in response. Then she returned. Again she did not waste time on any preamble. "This way," she said leading the group across the courtyard.  
  
Hoshi took her turn at helping Reed. "You know I'm beginning to feel like the parcel in a game of pass the parcel," He muttered.  
  
"Well just hope I don't try and rip the wrapping off when the music stops," Hoshi replied mischievously, glad of an opportunity to relieve some of the tension. Her efforts were rewarded as Malcolm turned to look at her, a horrified expression on his rapidly blushing face. He couldn't believe that Hoshi had made such a comment. She grinned at him. "Don't worry I'm joking," she added.  
  
Reed turned away from the grin as he felt his skin colour and concentrated on his walking. He was clearly struggling now and Hoshi's comment had almost stopped him in his tracks. Realising that they may lose sight of the others if they fell behind any further, he did his best to speed up.  
  
Meanwhile, Trip, T'pol and the doctor had entered the building and T'pol led them to the room where she had left the Captain. Trip was trying to control his fears for his friend. The possibility that there might be something seriously wrong was a feeling he'd managed to suppress since this whole thing began, but ever since he had seen T'pol and realised that the Captain was not with her, he had to acknowledge that his fears must be based in reality. He had known then that something was badly wrong, knowing Jon as well as he did, he knew that if he were able, then he would have been part of the rescue party.  
  
Not even his worst fears, however, prepared him for what he saw when he entered the room and saw his friend.  
  
Jonathan Archer was lying, pale and still, on the bed, his upper torso covered in already colouring bruises and his arm strapped and splinted. Trip rushed over to him and dropped down to his knees next to the bed "Jon," he said quietly hoping for some sort of response. When his friend did not stir he turned to look at T'pol. "What happened?" he asked.  
  
Phlox moved in and gently shifted Trip out of his way. "Excuse me Commander," he said softly, recognising the younger man's concern. "But I believe the Captain needs my help."  
  
Trip did not resist. In the mass of mixed emotion that he suddenly experienced, relief at finding his friend alive, concern at his condition, fear that he would not recover and anger at those responsible, it was anger that now took precedence. He stood and moved towards T'pol. "What happened to him? How did he end up like this?" In the absence of the people who had done this there was only one person he could direct his anger at.  
  
T'pol looked at him. "I will explain," she said calmly, meeting his anger with her usual detachment "But right now I believe our priority is seeing if we can be of any assistance to the doctor."  
  
Trip's anger quelled as quickly as it had flared up and he turned back to look at the doctor who was busy assessing the Captain's condition. "How is he doc? Is he gonna be all right?" Trip asked.  
  
Reed and Hoshi arrived in the room just in time to hear his pronouncement.  
  
"He has an extremely high fever and is suffering from dehydration and shock," the Denobulan said. "Not to mention his injuries." His next sentence confirmed what T'pol had feared earlier. "I'm afraid that we may have arrived too late." 


	13. Recovery

Part 13 Recovery  
  
Phlox wasted no more time, he did not hold much hope for the Captain, given his condition, but there was no way he was going to give up without a fight. The most immediate priority was to reduce his body temperature before the elevated fever caused convulsions, coma or worse, then he could deal with treatment. He began issuing instructions.  
  
First he dispatched T'pol and Hoshi to get towels and cool water, then he ordered Reed to sit with his leg elevated, he did not need another patient who required urgent treatment. Finally, he gave Trip the job of holding his medical bag. Not because he needed it holding, but because he needed to give the Commander something to do that would keep him still and in a position where he could keep an eye on him. The run through the forest had done him no good at all and he really needed to rest, but the doctor recognised that, given his deep concern for his friend, he also needed to feel useful.  
  
The next hour was spent in fairly frantic activity as the doctor did his best to help the Captain, At first they were all involved, as they worked to bring his temperature down. Then Phlox ordered them away as he continued his treatment. They all sat at the far end of the room.  
  
"So, what happened?" Trip asked, as he sat down wearily in a chair.  
  
T'pol quietly detailed the events from when they had arrived on the planet's surface. They hadn't noticed anything wrong until about half an hour after they had landed. The apparently friendly visit had, from that time on, taken a dramatic and violent turn for the worse.  
  
T'pol had noticed that there was something strange happening to her. When she looked at certain things they seemed to change. She had thought for a few moments that there was something wrong with her eyes or she had developed some sort of illness that was causing her to hallucinate. She had been about to tell the Captain when the guards had surrounded them.  
  
"What's going on?" Archer had asked, as their friendly hosts suddenly turned hostile. He stepped forward towards the people who moments earlier had been giving them a guided tour but his path was blocked by two guards. Their guides ignored his requests for information instead they whispered amongst themselves, occasionally looking over at T'pol. Archer found his anger and frustration building as the guards impassively blocked his path.  
  
"Captain," T'pol had whispered, "Be careful, things here are not as they seem."  
  
She did not get the chance to add anything else as finally their guides turned to address them."I'm sorry about that Captain." A nod caused the two guards in front of Archer to move apart.  
  
Archer stepped forward. "So would you like to tell me.." but he got no further as one of the guards raised his weapon and hit him a heavy blow across the back of his neck. He dropped to the floor stunned.  
  
T'pol reacted, stepping forward to help, but stopped abruptly as she felt the cold metal of a weapon make contact with her skin. "Move and you die," The guard next to her had threatened, and so she was forced to watch helplessly as the Captain struggled to his knees.  
  
"No," one of their guides said to the other, staring down at the Captain's dazed and kneeling form. "that makes it much worse. I am getting nothing at all now."  
  
"I agree," said the second guide, sighing resignedly, "He has the information buried too deep. We will have to resort to more primitive methods." Again another nod was all that was needed and the guards on either side of the Captain shouldered their weapons and half dragged, half carried him away. T'pol was forced to watch, "Where are you taking him," she asked, doing her best to ignore the weapon at her throat, but once again the guides were ignoring her. That was the last she had seen of the Captain, until he had been thrown into the cell with her, several hours later.  
  
T'pol detailed the escape from the compound and how they had met up with Tetia. ".. She brought us back here and we did what we could for the Captain." She completed her narrative. "That was when we were informed of your crash and came to help."  
  
"Still none of this explains what is going on." Reed said, shifting in his seat and trying to adjust to a position where his leg hurt less.  
  
"Now I believe it is your turn to explain to me how you came to crash. Are you part of a rescue party from the ship?" T'pol asked  
  
Trip, Hoshi and Reed all exchanged glances. "Not exactly," Trip replied as he filled T'pol in on the situation aboard Enterprise.  
  
Tetia arrived just as he was finishing his account, she was accompanied by Baros. "I have brought you food," she indicated the tray she was carrying, "and blankets." She indicated the bundle in Baros' arms. "I am sorry that we do not have larger accommodations for you. You all need to get some rest and we will talk in the morning."  
  
T'pol stood and took the tray as Baros distributed the blankets. "Thank you." She said  
  
Tetia looked across at the bed. "How is your Captain?"  
  
"Our doctor is doing his best," was the most positive thing T'pol could say as she followed Tetia's gaze. She then turned back to look at their host. "All of your people returned safely from the rescue?" She asked.  
  
Tetia appreciated T'pol's concern and, not for the first time, knew that she had been right to take the risk in helping these people. "Yes, the last returned about an our ago having laid a false trail."  
  
T'pol noted how tired Tetia looked, it was clear that she was having difficulty keeping her eyes open. She looked back at the rest of the Enterprise crew, their weariness was also evident in their expressions and their body language. "We will get some rest. Thank you again for your help."  
  
"You can thank me when you are back on your ship," Tetia replied. "If you need anything else just ask."  
  
Having eaten in virtual silence, too exhausted to do much else, they all did their best to make themselves comfortable for the night. Phlox had left the Captain long enough to check on both Reed and Trip, who had both, characteristically tried to insist that they were fine and that he should go back to the 'real' patient. Phlox ignored their protests and gave them both something for the pain and inflamation from their injuries and to ward off any infection, taking revenge for their reticence about being treated, by informing them that had they been on the ship, their injuries would be healed by now.  
  
T'pol took the opportunity to resume her interupted meditation, once the others were asleep. After everything that had happened she needed desperately to regain her focus.  
  
Fortunately the Denobulan Doctor did not need to sleep and he returned to his vigil by the Captain's side.  
  
  
  
The first light of the planet's dawn was streaking through the windows when T'pol felt a gentle touch on her shoulder. She opened her eyes pulling herself back from her meditative state and turned to look at the doctor who was smiling down at her. "The fever's broken and he's awake," he said, his voice low so as not to disturb the others. "He's asking for you."  
  
T'pol was instantly on her feet and ready to move to the Captain's side. The recent meditation allowed her to control and redirect the surge of emotion that once again threatened to break through. She told herself that it was logical to want to go straight to the Captain's side, as a human he would need reassurance and support that she would not. It was also logical to be grateful that he had survived, his skills would be needed if they were going to get Enterprise back and, come to that, when they succeeded in getting it back, but a small part of her brain had to admit that there was more to her reaction than that.  
  
She sat on the side of the bed and looked down at him, he was still too pale but his skin had regained a little of it's colour. "Captain," she said softly.  
  
He turned to look at her. "T'pol," he said, "What.. Where..?" He looked round, struggling to remember where he was and how he got there. He knew that the doctor was there, but he was also aware that he was definitely not in sick bay. He also knew that his last memories involved T'pol, if only he could remember, but his head ached with the effort of trying. He attempted to sit up.  
  
"No, lie still Captain, your system still needs time to recover," T'pol said, gently pushing him back down.  
  
"Recover.." he repeated. "Recover from what? What happened? Why aren't we on the ship?"  
  
T'pol realised that the recent trauma had affected his memory, so she began with when they arrived at the planet, taking him slowly through the events.  
  
As she spoke Archer's mind began to clear, the memories returning, the beating, the escape, meeting with Tetia, but there his memories stopped. As T'pol described their journey through the underground sewer system, he realised that his fever must have been bad by this point.  
  
"So how did the doctor get here?" He asked.  
  
"That's another long story," T'pol replied. "I believe I will let Commander Tucker fill you in on that when he awakes."  
  
"Trip's here?" Archer asked, moving to sit up again and this time having more success than the last. He propped himself on the elbow of his uninjured arm and looked down the room, for the first time taking in the other sleeping forms, spread on the chairs and couches at the end of the room.  
  
"And Lieutenant Reed and Ensign Sato," T'pol nodded confirmation. "Their shuttlepod crashed here during the night," Archer shot her a concerned look. "They suffered only minor injuries, but as I say I will let the Commander explain. You may have questions for him."  
  
Archer rested back on the pillow and started to sort out his thoughts. The fact that most of the ships' bridge crew were stranded on the planet's surface did not bode well and the fact that the shuttlepod had crashed could only indicate some fairly powerful hostile forces acting against them. He did not have all of the facts yet but he was fairly sure that they had no chance of rescue. Whatever was going on, this was a situation that they were going to have to get themselves out of.  
  
"I need to speak to Tetia," he eventually said. "We need to know everything that she can tell us if we are going to get out of this."  
  
"I will see if I can find her," T'pol replied, standing. "Meanwhile you need to rest."  
  
  
  
Both Tucker and Reed were fairly light sleepers, but they were exhausted from the events of the previous day so the movement in the room and quiet conversation did not wake them, until T'pol walked past and opened the door as she headed off to look for Tetia. Trip stirred first, rubbing his eyes and sitting up before attempting to stretch the kinks out of his muscles. Reed followed almost mimicking his moves as he shook himself awake and then stretched. It wasn't until he attempted to stretch his legs out that the matching movements stopped, as Reed winced in pain at moving the injured muscles. He sucked in a sharp breath.  
  
Trip was up and over by his side at the audible gasp of pain. He looked around and spotted Phlox. "Doc over here," he called across the room as he took in his friend's still pained exprssion.  
  
"I'm OK," Reed forced out, "just shouldn't have moved so quickly."  
  
"Here let me look," Phlox said, arriving with his medical bag and kneeling by Reed's leg. As he carefully began to remove the dressing, he looked up at Trip. "You might want to go over and talk to the Captain, I believe he'd like to see you."  
  
Trip looked at the doctor blankly for a moment, waiting for his freshly woken senses to consider all of the implications of the doctor's statement. "He's awake? He's going to be all right?" He asked.  
  
Phlox nodded and then turned his attention back to the Lieutenant's leg.  
  
Trip quickly covered the distance to the Captain's bed, stopping just short of it, he stood and watched for a moment, suddenly feeling awkward about his powerful emotions.  
  
Archer turned to look at him and smiled. "Trip," he said, pleased, despite the situation, to see his friend.  
  
Trip smiled back and stepped forward, sitting down on the edge of the bed. "Jon, good to see you awake."  
  
The two men smiled at each other for a moment longer, a wealth of emotion that they could never express to each other in words, but which was somehow understood, exchanged in the short silence. Then Archer's mind returned to the matters at hand. "So, would you mind telling me what's happening on my ship?"  
  
  
  
By the time T'pol returned, accompanied by Tetia, Trip had explained the situation on Enterprise and had answered, where he could, the Captain's questions.  
  
Tetia made her way straight over to the Captain, watched by the others in the room, the relief evident on her face. Trip stood as she approached "Captain Archer," she said, sitting next to the Captain in the position that Trip had just vacated. "I don't know if you remember our last meeting, but I am Tetia."  
  
The Captain stared into her green eyes, they were not something that he could easily forget. "I remember," he looked down at her hands, "I'm just relieved that you don't have a weapon this time."  
  
Tetia smiled. "I know that I do not need one," she replied. She turned to look at the assembled group. "I think it's about time I attempted to explain what is happening" 


	14. Explanations

Part 14 Explanations  
  
Trip found himself a seat whilst Hoshi, Phlox and Reed moved their seats closer to the Captain's bed all deeply intrigued by what Tetia could tell them about their current predicament.  
  
"As I explained to T'pol," Tetia began, "to understand what is happening I need to tell you a little about our people and our history. The first thing you must know about us is that our people have some telepathic abilities."  
  
"You mean you can read minds, talk to each other without speaking, that sort of thing?" Trip asked.  
  
Tetia turned to look at him. "Not exactly," she replied. "Most of our people have very basic skills; the ability to sense your mood, perhaps scan your surface thoughts." There was the briefest of pauses before she added, "and yes, we can communicate without speaking."  
  
It took a second or so to register that she had not spoken the last part of the sentence but somehow they had all 'heard' it.  
  
When she continued, she returned to normal speech. "The problem is that for most of us transferring thoughts in that way is like shouting. Everyone in the immediate vicinity can pick up on what is being said, so such abilities were not often used, until about fifteen years ago when things began to change. It started with a research group at one of the universities. They discovered that there were some people with much stronger latent abilities than others and they set up a simple standard test so that anyone could measure their potential. Some of those who gained the highest scores on the tests formed an elitist group, they called themselves Tesla, and members of the group began to develop techniques to train their abilities. On the surface it all seemed harmless enough but in reality a subversive sub culture was developing. Their leaders believed that those with the ability should be in charge of the government and should be using their talents. So they worked on a plan to take over, by last year they had the skills and the numbers to carry it out. You see, they had developed the ability to alter people's perceptions. They could make them see and hear what they wanted them to. They could also read surface thoughts, knew what people expected to see. They used this to slowly replace everyone in a position of power, government, military, police, all of the leaders were replaced by people from Tesla, by the time anyone realised what was going on it was too late, they were in control, a bloodless coup had occurred. They dropped their pretense slowly and let people know who they were."  
  
"But surely the people could have objected, stopped them once they knew what was going on." Reed said.  
  
"They could have but the Tesla leaders were very cunning. They launched a huge propaganda machine. What they had done had very little effect on ordinary people, their lives went on as always, so there was no reason for them to fight, besides, how can you fight people who can make you believe that they are your neighbour, your friend, your brother, your son? It would have been impossible." She paused for a moment to allow this idea to sink in before continuing. "The Tesla also made certain promises, that they would use their abilities to help them obtain alien technology and that that would use that to make everyone's lives better."  
  
"And that is where we come in." Archer said.  
  
"I'm afraid so," Tetia turned to look at him her expression full of regret. "You are the third ship to come to the planet since they took over. The other two crews were," she hesitated before continuing, "disposed of, once they had control of the ships, and then they looted them for the technology they held." She scanned the group. "You are the first crew that has shown any signs of being able to resist them. As far as we can tell the previous crews were completely oblivious to anything being wrong until it was too late for them. We have spies in their organisation, people whose own telepathic abilities are powerful enough for them to avoid being discovered." She looked at the Captain. "When we found out you had escaped from the compound we decided to help. There was little that we could do for the others." Again her tone showed her regret, "but we may be able to stop the same fate from befalling your crew."  
  
"Amen to that." Trip said.  
  
"First we need to understand how you managed to resist their telepathy and why they chose to show their hand so early with you Captain."  
  
"I think that was because of me." T'pol stated. "As a Vulcan I have a great deal more control over my thoughts than most other races. I began to see things as they really were shortly before their attitude towards us changed. I was just about to inform the Captain when they hit him."  
  
"And from then on he would have been in pain," Reed continued. "We discovered that pain somehow blocks the false perceptions."  
  
"Pain in humans causes subtle alterations in their brain chemistry," Phlox picked up the explanation, "Those changes must interfere with the telepathic signals."  
  
"Interesting," Tetia said, "So whilst your people are in pain their senses cannot be fooled."  
  
"You keep saying 'we'," it was Archer's turn to ask a question. "I take it that you are some sort of resistance group?"  
  
"Yes, as I said the Tesla's activities did not affect the lives of most ordinary people but the government and military leaders, the ones the Tesla replaced, they were.." She swallowed before continuing, her voice a little shakier than it had been, "killed, so that they could not pose any threat to the new government. Then their family and friends began to be systematically rounded up and 'moved for their own safety.' Those of us who saw what was coming dropped out of sight and formed the resistance movement you see now."  
  
Despite the fact that she had attempted to continue her narrative it was clear that Tetia found this part of her explanation difficult. Archer couldn't let it pass without offering some form of condolence. "Did you lose someone close?" He asked  
  
"My father," she replied quietly  
  
"I'm sorry," Archer gave the only response that he could, knowing that it was inadequate for such a loss, but then any words were.  
  
Tetia took a deep breath and visibly suppressed the emotions that had been pulled to the surface. "There are many here who have suffered similar losses," she continued with her explanation, "but we have also been able to recruit others who believe that what is happening is wrong. Some of them fortunately from within Tesla itself., that is how we knew what was happening to you."  
  
"Do your people know what is happening on Enterprise now?" Archer asked.  
  
She nodded. "According to our last report they have replaced twenty crew members so far. They also reported Commander Tucker, Lieutenant Reed and Ensign Hoshi killed in a tragic shuttlepod accident. They needed to explain the loss of the pod."  
  
"What about the Doc?" Trip asked.  
  
"It appears they replaced him." Tetia replied. "It seems they were keen for someone to be working in your sick bay."  
  
"Presumably so that they could find out more about human physiology and work out for themselves why their telepathy was ineffective." T'pol postulated.  
  
"So," Archer said thoughtfully, "if they've already replaced a quarter of the crew. We don't have much time to do something about it."  
  
"The loss of one of the shuttlepods has caused them to slow down their replacement program but you are correct we do not have much time before they have replaced enough of the crew to take over." She gazed directly into the Captain's eyes. "Once they have succeeded they will kill the crew. The only thing keeping them alive at the moment is the fact that they may need them or their knowledge in order to access all of your technology."  
  
"Damn," Reed let the curse pass his lips almost without realising it. "If only I'd stayed on the ship."  
  
"Why's that Lieutenant?" Archer asked.  
  
"Because I believe I've worked out a way to get through to the crew."  
  
"One that doesn't involve hitting them in the face one at a time?" Trip couldn't resist asking. Archer raised a quizzical eyebrow at him. "I'll explain later," Trip said directing the comment at his friend.  
  
Reed ignored him. "I was thinking about it last night. It would take a bit of work but I believe that I could rig the ship to give a small electrical shock to everyone in contact with something metal and, let's face it, that covers most of the surfaces on board., enough to hurt but not enough to cause any permanent damage. That would allow them all to see what was really going on." He sighed. "But it's no use because I'm not up there any more."  
  
Jonathan Archer's mind was working rapidly. Now that he had all of the facts, he needed to come up with a strategy and fast. Not only to take the Enterprise back, but also, if he could, to help Tetia and her friends take back control of their planet from the Tesla. The idea of leaving this beautiful woman to live in hiding whilst her world was run by a group, no better than space pirates, was not one that he could easily stomach. He knew T'pol wouldn't approve, would probably remind him that it was not a good idea to interfere in the government of a planet and would probably even tell him the position of the Vulcan high command on such matters, but he was damned if he would leave these people in power to do this to some other poor unsuspecting crew. If, by some miracle he could get his ship back, then he had every intention of using it to stop the Tesla.  
  
"OK. Lieutenant I want you to explain to T'pol exactly what you have in mind." Archer pushed himself off the cushions that he had been resting on to a full sitting position, ignoring the pain as adrenaline coursed through his system. There was a certain fire in his eyes, a determination in his expression that his crew recognised instantly. Their Captain had a plan. "Tetia, I think I know a way we can get my ship back and help your resistance movement at the same time but I'm going to need the help and cooperation of your people and it's going to be dangerous." He held her gaze. "I'll understand if you want to say no, you have already risked a lot to help us."  
  
Tetia shook her head. "There are others that I have to consult but I am sure they will want to help."  
  
"OK, good, first I need information, the layouts of the place where our people are being held and the whereabouts of the damaged shuttle, along with details of how it's being guarded."  
  
Tetia stood. "Give me a few minutes," she said and turned and left the room.  
  
Archer turned his attention to Trip. "How badly damaged is the Pod and her systems?"  
  
"Well, we aren't going to get it to fly again without a couple of days of major repairs," Trip replied  
  
"What about the internal systems, communications?"  
  
Trip tried hard to remember, the time around the crash was still a little hazy. He couldn't really recall anything before the dash across the clearing to the trees.  
  
"They were functioning when we left," Reed replied, noticing Trip's hesitation. "Commander Tucker suffered a concussion in the crash sir," he explained, "and he didn't really have chance to examine any of the systems, but the internal damage was fairly minor."  
  
"Well let's hope it stayed that way." Archer said, swinging his legs round off the bed. He couldn't recall ever feeling so weak and it took all of his willpower to hold his position as the room tilted alarmingly at the movement. He swayed slightly and instantly felt two pairs of strong hands gripping him either side. As his vision cleared he looked up at the sea of alarmed faces. Trip supporting him on one side. Phlox on the other.  
  
"Captain you really shouldn't be trying to move around yet." Phlox said, in as stern a tone as he ever used. "Please, lie down again."  
  
Archer held up his good arm and waved both Trip and the Doctor back. "I'm fine," he said unconvincingly. Realising that he wasn't going to get through this without some help, he looked Phlox in the eye. "Doc I need you to give me something to get me back on my feet for the next few hours."  
  
Phlox held his gaze. "You need to rest, your system has suffered.."  
  
"Doc I don't have time to rest," Archer interrupted. "You heard Tetia, if we don't do something soon then the rest of the crew could be killed and these fanatics will have control of a warp capable ship. I'm sure I don't need to point out what sort of hazard the Tesla could cause if they spread their piracy beyond the planet." He paused briefly. "Please doctor, there are things that I have to do."  
  
Phlox sighed, "I can give you an artificial stimulant and painkillers which will help mask the effects of the injuries, but you will have to be careful and I can't vouch for how you will feel when the effects wear off."  
  
"Not important," Archer said grimly, "because if this plan of mine doesn't work. I don't think it's going to matter how I feel." 


	15. Plans into Action

Author's note:- Major apologies to all those who thought I had died or given up on this story completely, but here is what should be the penultimate part. I'm afraid a combination of overwork, ill health and, on this particular story, my muse deserting me has delayed my writing, but rest assured I will get it finished and thanks for your patience. I hope after the long wait that it does not disappoint.  
  
(Brief resume for those who've forgotten:- Archer and T'pol were taken prisoner on a planet, they escape but not before Archer is severely beaten. He develops a fever and almost dies, fortunately they are rescued by members of the planet's resistance movement who are fighting a rogue government of telepaths, who are using their skills to hijack all passing star ships. On Enterprise the crew are being slowly replaced, Trip, Hoshi, Reed and Phlox discover this and are forced to flee to the planet in a pod which is forced to crash. Again the resistance movement come to their rescue. Archer has a plan to get the ship back and reclaim the planet's government and he is just about to tell the others what it is... )  
  
Part 15 Plans into Action  
  
Archer spent the next thirty minutes quizzing his crew. For his plan to work, he would need to use the skills of all those present and he knew that some of the things he was asking were pushing the limits of what was possible.  
  
When Tetia reappeared with the plans that he had asked her for, he had a similar set of questions about the capabilities of her people and the strength of the resistance movement.  
  
He seemed reasonably happy with the answers he received, but only when he had completed gathering the necessary information did he finally outline exactly what he wanted them all to do, dismissing all of the expected protests with a simple question. "Do any of you have a better idea? If so I'd be glad to consider it."  
  
He looked at each of his crew members in turn, they each met his gaze but, reluctantly, gave a slight shake of their heads. His plan was dangerous for all concerned, but they could not suggest a better alternative, and doing nothing was not an option.  
  
Archer turned his attention back to Tetia, "What about your people, can we rely on them to help us?"  
  
Tetia nodded, "All the things you've asked are possible, and this may be the best chance we'll ever have of stopping the Tesla. So yes, we can help you."  
  
It took another hour for the rest of the preparations, Archer did his best to rest, allowing the others to organise what was needed, working on the details of his plan. He knew that he was going to need all his reserves of energy and more, if this were going to work.  
  
Reed was introduced to Baros and Narib, who would be leading the fighters from the resistance and he knew that his first task was to gain their confidence. They had agreed to follow his directions, but raids like the one they were going to carry out would quickly fall apart if they did not trust in his abilities. So he spent the time going over the plans, making sure that he had covered all contingencies.  
  
After the initial stiffness when he had awoken, his leg had improved once he had moved around and loosened it up a little. Given the time to treat it properly, Phlox had been able to strap it securely and, although he wasn't happy about the prospect of his patient running around on it, he was reasonably happy that Reed would be able to manage.  
  
Hoshi, Trip and T'pol spent the time discussing the technicalities of their tasks, once they started they would be working against the clock, needing the element of surprise for the plan to have any chance of success.  
  
Phlox sat down next to the Captain on his bed. "You know I could accompany you and the sub-commander," he said, "I could monitor your condition."  
  
Archer shook his head, "It's too dangerous," he nodded his head towards T'pol, who still sat huddled talking to Trip and Hoshi. "I'm only taking T'pol because I need her."  
  
Phlox smiled despite the rejection, "Oh well I thought I would make the offer. Ready for your shots?"  
  
Archer grimaced slightly but nodded.  
  
As Phlox gave the injection he explained, "I've loaded this with enough for four doses, I'm afraid that it would be unsafe to give you any more than that. You can use it each time you feel that the effects have worn off, but bear in mind that you have a limited supply and when it wears off for the last time..." He let the sentence hang for a minute. "Well let's just say you will at the very least sleep for a while. It contains the stimulants you asked for and should alleviate most but I'm afraid not all of the pain."  
  
Archer looked up at him. "Under the circumstances, that's not such a bad thing."  
  
"No, I suppose not." He handed the instrument over.  
  
Archer took it and zipped it into the front pocket of his uniform. "Thanks doc." He said pushing himself to his feet. He could already feel the effect of the drugs coursing through his system and wanted to make the most of the artificial adrenaline rush. "I suppose it's time to get this show on the road."  
The journey through the forest, despite the fact that they were going much more slowly than their flight the day before, seemed much shorter. Tetia once again took the lead, followed by the Enterprise crew and then around twenty of her own people. She kept the pace slow, mindful of the injuries that Reed and Archer had suffered. There was very little conversation as they all thought about what lay ahead.  
  
Finally Tetia stopped and indicated that everyone should get down, without speaking, two of the group moved forward as everyone else, sank to the ground. Archer was particularly grateful for the rest, even with the stimulants, he could feel the fatigue setting in. He forced himself to focus as Tetia spoke.  
  
"They," she gestured towards the retreating figures, "will block any telepathic signals from those guarding the pod, we need to give them a few moments to prepare."  
  
Archer looked towards Reed. "Are you ready?"  
  
Reed in turn looked towards Baros, who nodded in acknowledgement. He turned back towards the Captain. "Yes sir."  
  
"Trip, Hoshi?" Archer asked  
  
"Just get us in there," Trip replied confidently, "We'll do the rest."  
  
Archer nodded, he had known before asking that had their been any problems his people would have told him long before this.  
  
"OK they're ready," Tetia said.  
  
Reed stood, it was his responsibility to get them to the pod. Baros, Narib and eight others followed. Archer watched them go, slightly concerned by the Lieutenant's somewhat pronounced limp.  
The group spread out around the clearing, Reed and Baros ducked down and watched the movement of the guards. There were two standing by the pod, the rest were spread out around the clearing, six of them in total. It was important to take all of them out at the same time, as the fire fight of the day before had shown, if the opposition was able to make it to the cover of the trees then there could be a prolonged battle.  
  
Baros turned to look at Reed, "OK everyone's in position, we can go on your signal."  
  
Reed returned the look, realising that the group had used their telepathic skills to indicate their readiness, it occurred to him that being able to communicate telepathically could give you a huge tactical advantage in situations like this. He turned back to watch the guards, waiting for that perfect moment when as many as possible were looking away from the direction of the attack.  
  
"Now," he said, standing and breaking cover, trusting implicitly that his own actions would be covered by those with him, after all to gain trust you also had to give it. As he stood he fired his phaser, taking out the first of the guards by the pod, he then turned his attention to the second. It took those guards near the edge of the clearing a moment to react to the surprise of the attack and when they did, they all turned their weapons toward him, he calmly remained focussed on the second man by the pod.  
  
His faith was rewarded as each of the guards was taken down before they had a chance to return fire, as the resistance fighters took advantage of the diversion and jumped them.  
  
As he let off his second shot, he caught a movement in his peripheral vision, as Baros knocked the guard nearest to him to the ground.  
  
The fight was over in only a couple of minutes. The Tesla guards not managing to get off a single shot, and, apart from the phaser shots that Reed had fired, they had all been taken out, almost noiselessly. Reed signaled to Baros to be cautious as they approached the pod just in case there was someone left inside.  
  
He flattened himself against the metal exterior, and waited until Baros had taken up a similar position on the other side, before opening the door and peering inside. He moved in, weapon in front of him, every muscle in his body tense, his senses alert. He let out a long slow breath and lowered his weapon as his scan of the interior revealed nothing.  
  
"The others are on their way," Baros said, joining him inside.  
  
"Thanks," Reed said, turning his attention to the consoles. There had been a concern that the Tesla may already have made a start on stripping the technology, but fortunately everything looked to be intact, or at least as intact as they had left it.  
  
--  
  
Archer and the rest of the group moved into the clearing, the bodies of the guards were still being dragged to one side and tied up. The two who had left the group earlier had moved to stand either side, presumably to guard against any unwanted telepathic warnings.  
  
Reed emerged from the shuttle as they approached, "Good job lieutenant." Archer said.  
  
"Thank you sir, but I had very competent help," he replied looking at Baros.  
  
"How's the inside?" Archer asked surveying the damaged pod, looking at the path it had taken through the trees and the ground it had carved up on landing, he was surprised that they had all escaped with such minor injuries.  
  
"It's as we left it," Reed confirmed.  
  
"Then it's our turn to get on with some work," Trip said, looking first at Hoshi and then T'pol who both nodded their agreement, before the three of them headed inside.  
  
"I think I'll go and see if I can assist them," Reed said, now that the adrenaline was wearing off his wound, which he hadn't noticed in the heat of the fight was beginning to ache. He could at least sit down whilst he helped with the repairs.  
  
Phlox had gone to see if there were any injuries from the fight that needed treatment. That left Archer and Tetia standing in the clearing.  
  
There was a moments awkward silence. It was Archer who broke it. "You know I haven't had a chance to thank you yet." He paused, looking up to meet her gaze. "For helping to save my life."  
  
Tetia looked down at the ground, guilt crossed her expression. "Given what my people are trying to do to yours, it was the least I could do."  
  
"Hey," Archer said softly, causing her to look up. Once again he couldn't help but notice the beautiful intensity of her eyes, no one on Earth had eyes quite that shade of green. "What the Tesla are trying to do isn't your fault."  
  
"Maybe not but they're supposed to be my government, whatever they do they are doing it in my name and I can't live with that, at least not without trying to do something about it." Her eyes flashed with the passion of what she was saying. "If there's one thing my father taught me, it's that sometimes you can't just sit back and let others rule your destiny. You have to take responsibility for doing what is right."  
  
"He sounds like a good man."  
  
"He was."  
  
There was another brief silence as both allowed themselves to be distracted by their thoughts, neither wanting to acknowledge the obvious chemistry between them, there was just too much else going on, but they both knew that there was every chance that one or both of them would not survive the coming fight with the Tesla and felt compelled to somehow acknowledge the attraction.  
  
The distance between them had closed during the conversation but neither of them was aware of having moved.  
  
It was Tetia who eventually broke the silence this time. "If circumstances had been different it would have been nice to get to know you a little better."  
  
Archer smiled, "When all this is over, you can come up to my ship and I'll take you up on that offer," he said, refusing to sound pessimistic despite knowing the odds against them  
  
Tetia returned the smile, if he wasn't going to acknowledge the likelihood of failure, then neither would she. "Thank you I'd like that."  
  
"Captain, we have completed.." T'pol stated as she emerged from the shuttlepod, the sentence trailing off as she saw how close he was to Tetia and noticed the intangible sparks that flew between them. She continued across to them, changing her statement. "I'm sorry to interrupt Captain but we have completed the necessary programs and are ready to begin.  
  
Slightly embarrassed, although he wasn't sure what he had to be embarrassed about, Archer stepped back from Tetia and turned his attention to T'pol. If he hadn't known better he would have sworn that he saw a jealous flash in her eye, but it disappeared quickly, besides she was Vulcan and jealousy was an emotion. He dismissed the thought and concentrated on getting the next phase of his plan into action. "Then let's get inside." He began to move and then remembered that he would not be coming out again. He turned his attention back to Tetia one last time. "Good luck."  
  
"The same to you," she replied.  
  
T'pol watched as Archer headed into the pod, turning briefly to look at Tetia before following him inside.  
  
Trip looked up as the Captain entered. "OK Cap'n ready when you are." He paused, deciding carefully how to word the next question, "But are you sure that you don't want me to go instead? I mean with your injuries an' all."  
  
"No Trip," Archer shook his head firmly, "Remember the real crew that are still up there think you are dead. I hardly think you'll be able to pass about the ship unnoticed. Unless I end up in the same room as my imposter then I should be OK."  
  
"And how are you going to explain that?" Trip asked, looking at the splint on the Captain's arm. "Aren't the crew going to think it a little strange that their Captain has a broken arm one minute and not the next."  
  
Archer looked down. "No, because I'm going to take it off."  
  
All of them started to protest but Archer held up his hand. "It will only be for a short while, I'm sure I can handle it, and I'm still open to suggestions if anyone has a better plan." There was the briefest of silences as he left a short pause for their answer. "OK the splint comes off." He held up his arm. "T'pol, will you do the honours." He turned to look at Trip. "What do you need to do to initiate transport?" He asked as a distraction to the discomfort.  
  
Reluctantly T'pol began to unwind the bandages as Trip explained. "Just push these two buttons. We've already programmed all the details through the main computer."  
  
"What are the chances that we've been detected?" Archer asked.  
  
Hoshi fielded this one. "So far very small, I've sent all of the instructions so far encoded on a carrier wave, piggy backed on regular transmissions between the planet and the ship. Unless they were looking for it they wouldn't find it."  
  
"Of course it will be different once we've actually initiated the transporter," Trip added, "Although I've arranged a couple of minor malfunctions that will take place in engineering to distract their attention, there's still a fair chance that there will be a crew member in the transporter room itself."  
  
"Which is why we have decided to send me up first" T'pol stated.  
  
Archer turned his attention back to her, ready to protest, but it coincided with the last part of the bandage coming away, allowing the splints to drop from his arm, the sudden release causing a sharp pain to momentarily take his breath away. Again if he hadn't known better he would have sworn it was deliberate, maybe he had seen that flash of jealousy, or maybe she wanted to halt his possible protests. Again he quickly dismissed these ideas.  
  
"It would be illogical for you to appear in the transporter room first." T'pol said impassively. "If there are any of the replaced crew in there when you materialise you would be in no condition to fight them off."  
  
Archer tried to come up with an argument to refute this but quickly gave up, she was right. "OK," he said. "Let's get on with this."  
  
Trip nodded and hit the transport button. T'pol disappeared in a pattern of shimmering light.  
  
Archer looked round at the assembled group. "Good luck to everyone," he said, "I think we're going to need it." He gestured to Trip that he was ready to go and Trip hit the button for a second time and Archer disappeared in the same shimmery pattern.  
  
Trip, Hoshi and Reed all stared at the empty spaces the Captain and T'pol had just occupied.  
  
"Do you think they made it?" Reed asked, it was one piece of technology that he still didn't fully trust.  
  
"They made it," Trip asserted, "Now we have to do our part." He stood and headed for the door as the others followed.  
  
TO BE CONTINUED... 


End file.
